Hi All – I’ve read the last few pages, so feel like I’ve caught up on things. I feel like Sept/Oct have been a bit wasted with holidays and then up a kg one week down the next… all month with the final tally being a gain of .8kg for Oct… trouble is, FDs go well, but bread kept appearing in the weekends (made a beaut bread pudding) and just living too well in the weekends. So this last weekend I consciously avoided the carbs, thai salads for lunch, and straight into FDs this week which I’m feeling stronger and more determined at, so hopefully I can get back to making some progress –

Also, my exercise is nearly back to what it was before my holiday/back episode mid Sept, and while I’m exercising more, I’m also eating more, so need to reign that in.

JJ – your reno sounds very stressful, so I hope it doesn’t go on too long! And well done on your 11kg loss.

Bay – I hope you had a lovely B-day last week!

After reading the first email I’d received from 5:2, I have started weighing daily, just so I can start to get a feeling for how my body reacts, because when I do it occasionally, and see such big jumps, it might be easier to take if I know what’s normal.

Coast – a great idea for your 8kg treat and no calories involved

Nap – I too struggle with an OH who unintentionally dangles ridiculously nice aromas in front of me (like when I’ve made salad and he has cheese rolls/pizza!) – thankfully he’s gone along with my suggestion to sneak his chips/crisps into the man cave so I don’t have to see him eating them. So good for him that he reached goal weight and is back to eating like a horse for 5 days and the 2 FDs just keep him at the right place, and I think over 3+ months he’s lost another kg, so this really is a great way to live if you keep the fasting going.

Happy fasting if today’s your day!

Hi Jane, so glad! May the headaches stay away!

Good morning everyone,
It is grey and rainy in Sydney too. Reminds me of home! Tomorrow I will wake up home in Melbourne!

Nap I hope you find something good to make for dinner tonight.
It is so hard to be a mum, you can’t help but blame yourself for every problem your kids have. It is clear you did everything you could think of when he was growing up.
Ah well, he is an adult now and will make his own decisions. What can we do but love them the way they are, and keep our fingers crossed they make good decisions for themselves.

I’m having my first cuppa of the day and my last morning, for a while, of watching kids shows wth little granddaughter Josie. I will miss her so much when I go home. ( next thing, she’ll be 21).

Well I succumbed to standing on the scales again and it said 58kg this morning. It is counting my fourth month kilo off a couple of weeks early.

Best wishes for a good day, cheers to the fasters.

Well done GL502 ??
The best part of 5:2 is needing a new wardrobe. ???????

It’s a good idea to Keep looking at the sales so you know when to buy. A tip is to try on very different styles of clothes from different labels. We all have lots of habits to overcome and we don’t know what suits our new shape. Where we used to hide our bits and pieces, now it’s time to show them off. New underwear is the best starting point. ??
Cheers, Bay

Well done Cinque & GL5012. Hurray for 5:2!

So right Bay, I bought another pair of shorts yesterday – I’m comfortably in a size 10 now. A year ago, I’d have been so happy to get into size 14. Much of what’s on offer doesn’t appeal to me at all now – very baggy tops to hide everything whereas I’m looking for nicely fitted clothing. I bought a lovely size 12 shirt last summer but it’s like a tent and I tried tucking it in but there was just too much of it. I’ve worn it twice. I’ve just realised that I really like my body for the first time in decades. Too bad about the old looking face.

Hi to everyone else, I’m afraid I haven’t had time to read all the posts lately so I’m just reading the last few whenever I log in. Hope everyone’s going well.

Hi Cinque

Grey and wet here too. Vegetable soup today. Am fasting before going out to look at clothes. I’ve ended up a size 12 all over. ??

Cheers, Bay

NikT. Thanks for wishes. Bay ?

Good morning from sunny Perth. This is the second week I’ve weighed in heavier after a FD. What’s going on? Last week, I dropped the weight two days after the FD so I’m hoping that’s what will happen this week as I want to impress my GP with the new me tomorrow. (Keeping in mind that this fluctuation falls within a one kg range which has been stable for a few months now so not really anything to moan about, just an observation). It’s just not very rewarding to wake up at the high end of that range after a FD. Maybe a 5km walk with some HIT will do the trick.

Sorry to hear about your son Naptime. That must be hard to watch. Apparently, my step-brother who I haven’t seen in many years is the same. He just doesn’t care. All you can do is approach it from the aspect of being concerned about his health & longevity. I’ve mentioned before on this thread about my walking buddy who’s watched 5:2 work so well for me but does nothing for herself (94kgs) and her two daughters aged 19 and 20 who weigh in at over 110kgs each (maybe more). It’s very sad to see but none of them care enough to change.

Hi Cinque

What a lovely message to read on a very grey day. I am fasting and it is way harder than Monday’s fast which was an absolute doddle. ??

Am seeking solace on the thread as I have only had black coffee and vegetable soup today, nothing else. For me, it is harder to fast on very grey days. Instead I’m thinking of the garden and the trees and how much they love the rain. ??

Cheers, Bay

Hi Bay are you still here?
What a SNAP! I fasted on Monday and I wasn’t hungry all day.
Today!!!!! Starving! Irritable! Concentration of a gnat!
WAVES of hunger!
And I’m not going to let myself have my soup til 6pm!

I’ve just been ironing and listening to Leigh Sales and Annabel Crabb’s podcast (http://www.chat10looks3.com/)which I enjoy very much.

Just after I said there was sun here, facebook was alight with storm warnings. Missed me! I hear there was a tornado at Tullamarine.
Right now my place is full of light and birdcalls and a very happy garden!
I bought basil and coriander to plant too!

I believe Thin’s scales are just playing silly b^ggers and will show her proper weight the day after tomorrow, like they did last time!

A bit more ironing to do! Tea towels and two tricky linen shirts. Sigh.

Go Fast Day, Go!

PS Yes I do iron teatowels! I’m a little bit crazy.

Just as I expected Thin! 😉

Well it is after 6:30 so I think I will go and heat up my soup.
I am glad to say that the hunger pangs I get now are just normal hunger pangs, not the intolerable, insatiable need to eat that I got when sugar was in my diet. And given that I have a chronic illness full of nasty symptoms, it is amazing I complain about them at all!
I am confident now (she says, with her fingers crossed that these aren’t ‘famous last words’!) that I can keep fast days lower calories, and give my body a proper break, you know, like 5:2 intended to be!

Well done Cinque and thanks, Thin, a boost is always welcome. ??

I had vegetable soup with a little Parmesan around 4 pm. I think I didn’t last until 7 pm because it’s both a Thursday fast and it’s on a grey rainy miserable day. I had some tuna for dinner at 7.30. I will be interested what the impact is, when I weigh tomorrow. I think that there will be less weight variation than I usually have after a fast.

Cheers, Bay ????

Hi Cinque
I think everything worked when I first started because I was very disciplined on my non fast days. Now I am using my fasting days to balance my food intake for the week. It works for me on 5:2. Yay for non fast days.
Cheers, Bay ?

Good to hear from you Intesha. Look forward to having you join us in the 60s soon! Enjoy those friends.

Hi SH,

signing on after FDs last week (sorry a bit late)

I have just managed to get back to pre-birthday week long celebration PB!!!! yay!!!! let go of 9.5Kgs since 1st August.
that 2kg jump took three weeks to move. But haven’t been extremely strict on NFDs (including my limited carbs allowance) but keeping to 500cals (no carbs) on FDs (with some minor slip-ups).

My next goal is 5kg off and is only 3.5kg away.

am doing no excerise except for the physio for my shoulders after the surgery. I think I will start getting back into my ‘dance’ movement regime 🙂

signing off,

Coast

This week I have managed to lose 300 g but better still 4 cm have come off my waist. My back is aching as my weight has shifted and it is getting used to where it is. I have been a bit off track with the diet as the two stormy days I was back to eating casseroles that I had in the freezer. I just can’t eat salads on cold days. We only had rain on one day the first real rain since the start of September.

The garden will take time as I am on a small acerage. We have changed a rose garden that did not do well into a hedged garden. It is growing well at the moment. There are still many parts that need planting out but my son is unable to come back as he is flat out with his job. I have got a local man (handyman/gardener) coming once a month to complete these tasks. I have tried to do them but can’t. With each job done it just feels good like a weight coming off.

Off the a film screening in which some locals where involved. We are doing it as a fundraiser and then going to coffee shop with the afternoon tea worked into the calorie count.

Morning, all. Nice and sunny here in Canberra – so time to catch up on washing and gardening, I think.

Congrats, Coast! That is awesome you are back to pre-birthday weight.

Bay, what do you mean by using your fasting days to balance your food intake for the week? I know you are further along than me, but it helps to hear how others are managing.

Weigh in this morning- only lost 400g. But, better than nothing, I suppose. I’m not sure why it is so little again, I thought I was doing really well with my non fast days, and my FD are always under 500cals. Oh, and I was doing 4:3, as well. I am still struggling with what to have for lunches to eliminate some of those carbs, but other than that, I thought I was doing ok.

It is a bit frustrating when I feel like I am going without (I struggled with that this week, especially) 3 times a week and exercising everyday – and only lose such a small amount. And then, OH doesn’t fast, eats junk and doesn’t exercise and loses a kilo!! Argh!

I guess I will have to have more of a look at what I am eating on my non FD. And I need to find some other things for lunches, I think.

Sorry, don’t mean to complain – again.

Hi Intesha,

to my taste buds miso is more a salty taste, sort of like vegemite.

Just had it for lunch – 2 sachets ( 2 cups of boiling water) with diced up tofu, mushrooms and shallots. I also added some garlic and chilli, just for good measure. Very filling. oh, I had a tiny little leftover bulgur and threw that in just to get it out of the fridge. So easy and so fast.

That hovering must be disheartening, especially doing 4:3. I tend to agree about the resting. I figure if you are doing all the right things, eventually the downward trend will get going again. Just a thought, have you gone back to basics and re-evaluated your calories for the NFD AND FD to take into account your new beaut lower weight?

I’ll have to do that soon too. Can hardly wait 🙂

cheers,
Coast

Hi Nap

I have been maintaining for some 15 months. You ask what I mean by balancing energy in and out. Recently I have not been doing the Intermittent Fasting exactly as recommended by Dr Mosley.

Recommended IF says 5 days of eating at ones TDEE and 2 days eating at a quarter of TDEE. When I was trying to lose weight, that is what I was doing each week. I was also not eating any white food, no starch, no flour foods, no pasta, no rice, no breads or cereals, no sugars of any sort. No dried fruit or juice. This meant that I lost 15 kg in six months, and within that time I had 2-3 plateaus of 3 weeks at a time where I lost no weight.

When the weight loss happened, it was dramatic. I suspect because of the complete absence of white foods and processed foods. While I was on the plateaus, my shape rearranged itself. And I lost clothing sizes, one for each plateau, and arrived at size 12.

I want the health effects of IF, and am now fasting 2 days a week on fewer than 300 calories. Mostly homemade vegetable soups. And lots of water. However, I am eating over my TDEE (est 1621 calories on this site) when I feel like it on the non fast days. A real feast and famine effect.

Overall I am eating the recommended total of calories per week, but eating fewer on my 2 fast days. I think of it as balancing energy in and out over a week. Hope that makes sense. I don’t recommend this pattern for new fasters, as it’s important to get a feel for portion size, and to learn calories in food, and the nutrition of various types of food.

As soon as I commit to the next sugar free challenge, I will begin losing fat from around my middle, something I am looking forward to. I have an addictive response to sugar and sweet foods, in that if I have sugary food, then I want more, every two hours or so. It makes it so hard to not nibble.

Hope the above all makes sense to you. Sorry to go on so long.

Cheers, Bay 🙂

Hello everyone, it is lovely to get on to the couch and check posts and find lots of contributions.
Washing and gardening day is exactly right! I got my washing on the line before I went to the meetings. Two really excellent meetings! Then I came home and had brunch.
Then I went to the nursery and came home and gardened for a couple of hours. That is HUGE for me. Fingers crossed I haven’t overdone it. But I have planted out rainbow chard, sweet basil, coriander, and little alpine strawberries. I shovelled compost, and pulled up violets ( that have been gently ploughing the hard earth for me). My garden is in pots at the front of my flat, and a little raised bed that you can buy these days. It is going well and I will have lots of things to add to my miso soup on Fast Days.

I bet it has been tiny compared to what you’ve been doing GL, but Oo isn’t it lovely to look at the work that has been done! ????

The washing is in now. I’m aching all over, but pleased. And getting hungry so I will have an early dinner. Just two meals today I think.

Hooray for your losses Coast, Nap, GL.
I definitely go in jumps. I have just had a nice one and look forward to taking my waist measurement on Tuesday.
You are pushing yourself hard Nap, so it must seem disappointing not to be going more quickly, but I agree with the others that you are doing just amazingly.
I hope you can give yourself some space so you don’t feel deprived all the time – without going backwards.
I roll my eyes at your OH. It just isn’t fair is it.

I was also thinking how hard life must have been for your son. Trying so many things and not getting anywhere. Feeling like he was disappointing others, as well as himself. And I bet he had to cope with teasing and bullying. It is no wonder he just needs to protect himself for a bit. Sometimes it is a strong and wonderful decision to just not care about your weight. I bet he needs to be in that space for a while.

Best wishes for a lovely Fast Day Thin!
It is Day before Fast Day for me!

Thanks Cinque. 59.9kgs this morning so looking forward to tomorrow’s weigh-in and hoping to lose a bit more for a new PB. Smoked salmon, asparagus & a poached egg for dinner.

I’m not sure Intesha, the doc told me I’ve lost an inch in height. My BMI is 22 so all is well. I’m not trying but if I happen to lose another kg before our trip, I’d be happy.

Maybe the 4:3 isn’t working because you don’t get such dramatic effects of feast and famine? I don’t know, it’s probably not worth trying to rationalise. I’m amazed that you can keep it up for so long. For how long will you be in the UK? Do you intend to do any fasting while there? What’s for dinner tonight?

Intesha, we’re leaving in two weeks. I aim to do one proper fast a week plus another day doing a semi-fast. I’ll keep the same fast days to help me try and keep to the routine.

Last Christmas I fasted twice a week throughout the season, I changed some days around but enjoyed anything I wanted. I didn’t lose any weight but I didn’t gain any either so I was very pleased. Of course I was at home which made it easier. But you might be able to do that at your daughter’s house – if you want to.

I’m still 59.9kgs as I was this morning so I might get lucky on the scales tomorrow.

Hot in Melbourne! I will cover my seedlings before the sun comes around on them. I will have to use a bedsheet!
Fast Day.
Note to self: drink even more water than normal!

Congrats Intesha! Hooray for the end of the plateau!

So glad you could pop in Merry. All good wishes!

Cheers Thin!