Hi everyone… Haven’t checked in since FOREVER ..so thought it was time.. I’ve checked out a few posts and once again, so encouraging to see new, enthusiastic people on here..I’ve finally hit the ‘healthy’ bmi range though my waist measurements not so yet! .. 18kg gone in just over a year .. I’m just at 70kg now ..fell off the wagon around July when we had visitors and a number of other events and put on 3 kgs .. Lesson well learnt ! I’ve gone from a size 16 (pushing 18)to a comfortable 12.. I feel I’m not there yet so I’ll keep going with this truly wonderful way of living ..I think someone asked about days of almost ‘binge’ eating .. Interesting and I find every 2-3 weeks I’ll have a day of eating everything in sight (and this can mean, Maccas breakfast, pies, twisties, French vanilla slice etc etc) I just go with it now and don’t feel bad (though admittedly, I can feel ill afterwards) I guess it’s just my body saying ‘yeah, you can do this BUT not every day ‘. Putting my thanks to all of you in here, especially the wise ones (you know who you are) .. So glad I got such sound advice and direction from others from the start .. Yay!

Hi EA, many say it’s hard to get back into the swing of fasting after an absence so next week will be easier. Good that you dropped the kg already.

HIA, you’ve done very well. Did you get rid of all the size 14-16 clothes?

Cinque, impressed that you can throw in a flash fast like that. Have a great day. The Moroccan chicken will taste even better tomorrow.

I’m cruising along at a steady 60-61kg where I’ve been for a few months now. It’s a good thing I’m happy with this weight as this would have been a very long plateau if I wasn’t calling it ‘maintenance’. Perhaps our bodies just tell us where we ought to be.

Hi SH

I’ve just enjoyed catching up on 3 pages worth while I ate my lunch (natural yoghurt with lots of frozen raspberries and a sprinkling of homemade nutty /oat germy / bran mix – beautiful!)

Was engrossed reading the big Carb post, very interesting to have a whole lot of facts in the one place – thanks Merry.

I’m back down to 77.3 (where I was 2 weeks ago) so just keeping on keeping on!

Have a great birthday, Intesha and enjoy the Vic Markets!

Aren’t granddaughters just the best Cinque?.. Having this latest little button was really the impetus for me getting healthy .. I really want to be around when she is 14 or so and karma returns on her own mum! I still have a few favourite country road shorts in size 14 Thin! I can’t quite give them up yet but I’ve just put out two big bags to the opshop knowing someone will appreciate them.. As I have…but I’m not going there again..I rely on my daughters to tell me when my clothes are baggy as I can’t see it .. Weird..and I still find I’m looking at the larger sizes when out shopping too..

Same EA, haven’t been to Melbourne since my back-packing days (although mine were in the previous decade to yours). That happens to me sometimes, I’ll post my entry and then several others will appear above and it has nothing to do with the time posted either.

Intesha, well it’s telling that you’re eating doughnuts and posting on here too – shows you’re mindful while you’re doing it. Have fun, please enjoy everything on offer – but if I was to be a little voice in your ear this weekend, it would just be to ask, “do you really need that second one?”. I’m not trying to be a killjoy but someone I introduced to 5:2 did ask me that question at a morning tea when the plate of cakes came round for the second time & I was deliberating over them – she said to me “five minutes from now, it won’t have made any difference whether you ate one or two, so just have one”. I don’t always follow it but I think it’s great advice.

About the doughnuts, my uncle was a bigwig at Hovis in the UK a hundred years ago. Have you ever bought a jam doughnut that had little or no jam in it? Here’s why: The doughnuts were injected with jam from huge jars that took big muscles to lift down from storage shelves. Late in the shift, the workers didn’t want to bother getting the next vat of jam out so they’d start injecting less, or none, and send the doughnuts out to the stores sans jam.

Welcome back on board NikT. And good for you HIA, ‘not going there again’.

Yes, 1973. Just had a look at it on youtube. Makes you wonder what’s in a loaf of bread these days!

Thanks for sharing that link Cinque. I can see the appeal of hot. Reading that, I was struggling to decide whether they sound delicious or disgusting. 😆

Talking about doughnuts, I love the hot (jamless) doughnuts you get at the seaside in England.

Hi Naptime
Well done. It sounds like the carb free week has paid off. ??
Cheers, Bay

Morning, everyone. “Official weigh in this morning – lost 2.1kg since last Saturday. Woo hoo! I have now lost 30kg in all – 7kg of that since starting 5:2 5 weeks ago! I am one very happy chicken this morning. Only 22kg to go to my goal weight.

I bought some size 20 pants just when I started 5:2. I’m thinking they may have to go back and me get a size 18!! With the weight that is coming off, I won’t be able to wear the size 20 all summer. Luckily I am lazy and they are still in the bag with the docket…

Thin and Bay, thanks for the congrats. Thin, I usually have a few hunger pangs, but nothing some cold water doesn’t fix. And I don’t mind the hunger, it means I will be burning fat – and that spurs me on. But yesterday I was more hungry than usual. I usually don’t eat (do have a coffee with almond milk) until lunch when I have a salad. Then I don’t eat until dinner. Dinner last night was the Slendier Rice Salad. I probably didn’t have enough protein. I usually add a slice or two of 98% fat free ham for lunch and I didn’t yesterday for some reason.

I think some of it was probably OH bloody sitting next to me having spag bol and a sausage roll! Oh and the talk of “I want some popcorn”. I could have killed him! I said “have some, then”. He said, I can’t, I’m fasting. What?? I could have killed him! Is there such a thing as Fast Day Rage? 😉

Well done naptime. I’m glad you are feeling happier and you are doing so well.

I hope Saturday fasters have had a good n positive day.

All the best for Sunday fasters tomorrow. xxxx

All quiet here, today – I hope everyone is doing ok.

I took the pants back – and tried on the size 16. They were a bit tight around the waist, but I got them on. Size 16! I can’t believe it. I didn’t buy them, I wasn’t confident enough to bypass the size 18 – but it was so nice to be able to get them on. I am stoked.

Cinque, how lovely to have your daughter and granddaughter there for a few days.

Any ideas about more filling foods for FD, Thin? Or anyone else who can chime in?

Have a nice night, all!

Hi Naptime, I’m here. FD for me, Sunday. How nice for you to get into the size 16, a great incentive to keep going. Regarding the filling foods, yes, as you said in your previous post, protein is good for that.

When I was eating more frequently on a FD, I’d go for low GI foods like 30gm steel cut oats with water or turka dhal, 137 cals – you don’t get much food but it keeps you full for longer. I’ll post my recipe for turka dhal on Coastcat’s recipe page. You can divide it into portions and freeze it in bags so it’s always handy – I had some today in fact. But you say you wait until lunch and just have salad which means you have more cals for dinner which I believe is preferable.

If you have fat-free ham, it will probably leave you wanting (I understand that it’s a toss-up between adding calories and choosing fat-free but the latter often means increased salt and/or sugar). Others may be able to better advise on this as I try not to eat any processed meats. I’d tend to go for apiece of steamed fish or 100gms chicken. Other foods I find filling are eggs, 80 cals (many on here talk about mushroom omelettes, you just need to be careful that you’re not using oil to cook the eggs, or at least counting all the cals if you are; I cook my one egg in a non-stick pan or poach it in the micro with a few drops of water). Bananas are filling, 110cals. Nuts such as almonds are filling too – you need to count them out and you won’t get many. The konnyaku noodles are very filling with virtually no calories so they’re good in miso soups. I’m having a bit of a brain fog just now and that’s all I can think of. Contrary to its claims, I’ve found that fasting doesn’t make my brain more acute, sadly!

* 5:2 (that’s what I meant when I wrote 5:3 in my last post!

I love dahls! Such a good food. A great idea for something filling.

My home looks like a bomb hit it. Blocks and necklaces and stuffed toys and dolls everywhere. How did that happen?

Best wishes everyone, have a good day today!

I wondered if jetlag had hit, Merry! I hope you are feeling back to normal (or, even better, better than normal!) soon.
I hope you are fine to have your regular Fast Day!
Mine is going well. These are the long hours. I am not quite up to getting work done, so I just keep doing some pottering around stuff, and then rest a little.
Just about to put 72 derwents back in their tin box, in order! While watching TV. Life is not too bad is it!
I have some bergamot tea (herb) brewing.

Hi Everyone.
Promised myself I wouldn’t get online today until I’d given the kitchen a bit of a spring clean. Almost finished, but needed a coffee, so that’s my excuse. Also went thru wardrobes on the weekend and delivered a mountain of clothes to the Salvos. No, I’m not storing them this time – they’re goooone forever and I’m never going back. Poking around in Salvos on weekend and found a couple of as-new Sportscraft pants, bargain at $10 and fit like a glove. Still losing weight, so not spending a huge amount of $$$ on clothes until I’m where I finally want to be….maybe another 2-3kg. Need to get rid of those pesky saddlebags!

Yay to you Hoot! Great to have you back. How successful have you been???

Yep, my hand still goes to size 14s when shopping. Don’t know how long it will take for my mind to catch up with my body.

Good old Queen Vic Markets. Very jel. Enjoy yourself, Intesha, you deserve it. Love jam doughnuts! Remember the little tweeting in your ear…..it’ll be Thin & me!

Nik, great that you’re back to the 77s.

Nap, glad limiting the carbs is working for you. Onward and downwards! Watch those new clothes…..you’ll be size 16 before you know it. Maybe leave those tags on again!

Hope you’re over that jetlag Merry. Takes its toll when you can’t sleep. Good luck at the docs.

Cinque, what on earth are derwents???

Love Dhal in any form…spicier the better and I also think the heat/spice makes me feel more satisfied too. FD for me today. Don’t know what to have for dinner…..what about you guys? What yummy stuff is on the menu at your place? CM xx

Glad to read that you haven’t held onto those clothes CM. Well done.

Hi Coast. Enjoy the rest of your fast day. I’m right here with you. (Actually, if it wasn’t for you guys, I would have probably eaten today so thanks for keeping me on track.)

Chicken and salad for my fast meal tonight followed by a decaff tea with ff milk.
xxxx

Evening, all. Had Thins recipe of Chicken Fettucine and Avocado Pesto for FD tonight – yum!

Been a cool afternoon here, and I managed to finish off my garden, ready for some veggies. It had to be fenced off, as we have chooks – and they love to scratch and have dust baths around the new plants. But now I am ready to get some tomatoes, cucumbers, pumpkin and anything else I think will fit.

I’ve never had dhal – I think it could be worth a try. Thanks for the ideas. I like to keep lunch down under 90 cals, which is hard with things like egg. I do find my egg white omelette with mushrooms and tomatoes filling – but is more of the main meal, than lunch.

I have never cooked fresh fish. I would like to try, as it seems like a good form of protein with not too many cals. What is a good starting fish, and how do I cook it? I am not big on seafood (I do like the packaged oven baked fish fillets and do eat tinned tuna) so something that doesn’t have a really strong fish taste to start would be good.

So, how did we all go today? how did other Monday fasters go?

Evening All,

Yay! Got my FD done today – a bit trepidaciously(is that a word?) at first, then got more confident in the afternoon. Ate at 6 pm. Shared a sashimi and sushi box with OH with lettuce. 1/2 hr later, a cup of fish stock (8 cals/100mls) with a few asian combination fish balls (fish, water chestnuts, shallots, 63 cals/100gms) sliced up in it with chopped fresh coriander. 1/2 small apple and 1/2 small orange. I have no idea what that all adds up to – above or below 500cals, and yes it had a bit of rice in the sushi bit that I wouldn’t normally eat. Just can’t be bothered working it out tonight . Just stoked I’ve got my FD done.

Thanks for the good wishes everyone. Good result with my Drs appointment, thanks.

CM, Derwents are pencils, and I think Cinque said 72, so a lovely box of coloured pencils. Doing some colouring Cinque? There was a lady on the plane colouring with great gusto. I thought it was supposed to make you mellow, and relax.

Daughter and granddaughter headed off to meet friends at the National Gallery of Victoria. I am going to finish posting, tidy up, lie down. Hopefully in that order.
She has taken a lovely basket of food to share with mums and babies: Turkish bread and hummus and carrot sticks, lemon cupcakes and a big container of fruit chunks. I volunteered to make the hummus (so easy 😉 ) while she made the cupcakes, yesterday.

That was an impressive binge day yesterday EA! Cheers for an impressive Fast Day today!

CharliesMum, just reread your post about tidying up first and realised that would have been a better order for me….. No, I couldn’t do it without sitting and finishing my coffee first! But hooray that you could! Nearly. It is the coffee that gets us every time!

Hooray for your mountain-of-clothes clear out, and your new bargains!

Cheers for your Fast Day, Coast. I was looking at the yummy Tarka Dhal recipe and I think a small bowl would be right for a Fast day. Do you agree Thin?
Good luck with your assignment and thesis! Hope your concentration is up. Oh dear I have some important paperwork that would be SO good if I can get it done today. I wonder if it is possible. My concentration is out the window and fading in the sunlight!

Bay, I want to be able to Fast like you. You too CM. I think that as I go on I am able to get more flexible and able to eat less on a Fast day.

I’m like you with fish Nap, plus I get bewildered by what is sustainable fishing and what isn’t. I would like to have more fish in my diet.

Yours sounds like an excellent Fast Day too Merry! You are an inspiring lot. Plus you beat me to the ‘derwent’ explanation! I didn’t get a chance to draw, but I rather like the new craze for colouring in!

I was telling my daughter how nearly everyone here is on the scales all the time, and how I would weigh myself at her place. She said she thought her scales were out by a kilo or more! So I was more like over 63kg last time I weighed. She is going to see what she weighs on the industrial scales at her gym, and cf them to her bathroom scales so I might get a more realistic guess! Or I can just see how much I have lost compared to the last time I was on them!

No. Don’t tell me to go to her gym!!!!!

Best wishes everyone. Eat mindfully! Enjoy every mouthful.

Ahhh, colouring pencils…I seem to remember them now from somewhere in my dark past!

Thanks Cinque, but I think Bay takes the crown re fasting. I can only aspire to be more like her and Purple. Mmmmm, all my favourite foods, but lemon cupcakes take the cake (pun intended!) but then I adore anything with lemon.

Good luck with your FD, EA…be strong girl!

Glad all is good with you Merry & the docs went well too.

Have a great day everyone. CM xx

Thank you, CM, bows while accepting said crown as it is my birthday month. It was Purples crown last month, and shall be duly bestowed on a suitable recipient for the month of November. ????

Cheers, all. Bay 🙂

Good morning everyone, it is a summery spring day in Melbourne. Clothes dried on the line overnight.
I am looking forward to my next fast, but a trip to Sydney today and we will be getting Vietnamese food when we arrive (yum!). I’ll aim to fast tomorrow, and on Friday if I can’t manage tomorrow.
I got my first 5:2 newsletter! It suggests, if you are the type to weigh every day, that you take an average of them at the end of the week, to get a truer idea of how the weight loss is going. Calculators out!
Life has been so hectic this week, and today I need to cook rice and dahl, catch up with friends, have the house in some sort of shape so that my Home Help Angel can vacuum etc, pack for Sydney, sort out the fridge, book a taxi and get to the airport on time.
So I am sitting with a coffee and saying hello to you lot! (At least the moong dahl are cooking!)
I hope you are having a good simple day, without too much on, and a special hi to those who are fasting.

Bring your warm clothes Cinque. Cold and overcast in Sydney today ? Where’s spring? P

Naptime, dehydration causes low bp…possible dizziness. .try increasing the amount of fluid you have on fast days. P ☺