Hi JudyK. Great that you’re planning to start fasting tomorrow – welcome to a great new WOL. Planning is key. If you’re not used to calorie counting, the first part of this is going to be a bit of a hassle as you will need to make sure you don’t go above 500 cals on your fast days. This includes all milk in coffee, herbal teas, etc.

If Cinque appears today, she might be so kind as to post the link to our recipes to give you some ideas. A website I used when I first started 5:2 is http://www.goodtoknow.co.uk – it has tasty meals under 300 cals, meals under 200 cals, etc. I planned my FD meals for 4 weeks so 8 FDs all sorted.

How you structure your food intake might depend on whether you work, stay at home, whether you are catering for OFMs, etc. The egg sounds good, perhaps ditch the toast. If you can, try and go as long as possible without eating and save your cals for a ‘meal’ of sorts later. This should include some protein to keep you feeling full.

That’s dangerous then, Thin, both working from home we can lead each other astray and never get any work done, tee hee. What sort of work do you do?

That Slendier stuff sounds very interesting indeed. I’ve got a feeling I may have seen a youtube clip where someone was mentioning it also. I must see how I can access some of that.

Thanks for the encouragement. I’m telling myself I’m on the right track, but those pesky scales have a way of getting you second guessing yourself. That’s why I don’t weigh myself every day now (as I used to) because you can become unnecessarily influenced and dispirited when it’s just the body fluctuating up and down… however, it can also get away from you that way too. But I’ll keep on plodding and if things don’t go down again soonish, I’ll revisit the extra calories I’m allowing myself on fast days. I know I’m doing pretty well on non-fast days, but I’ll look critically at that as well.

My daily exercise is going well, though, so I definitely can see I’m toning up again. When I was at my absolute best, 20 or so years ago, when I first joined a gym in Alice Springs when exiled there (working) for a few weeks, I transformed my body. I never weighed myself at all, but dropped a couple of dress sizes and was fit, toned and healthy. So I know scales aren’t the be all and end all, just another marker really.

Hi Everyone
I’m sorry I missed a few posts as I forgot to refresh this page and thought it was very quiet in here lately lol.
Cinque- how nice to have your family just a suburb away. My grandchildren are too and it’s lovely to see them so often.
Welcome MissMelsy, I too have just joined here and it’s great to have this support. It’s my second time doing 5:2. I got to my goal but life got busy- no excuse and I hope to continue doing this forever! Merryme, I did have to laught because that’s exactly how I weigh myself too. I lost a kilo after last Monday’s fast but ended up losing only 400 grams for the week. We had some of our kids over Saturday night and I probably had too many wines. Oh well it’s 400g less than last Monday. Today’s fast is going well so far 🙂
Have a great day everyone x

Ooh lovely posts to catch up on!

Here is the link to our recipe thread: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/southern-hemispherites-fd-recipes/

If you ‘favourite’ it, you’ll be able to access it on your profile page.
Or you can just keep asking me to pop the link in! 🙂

Clever girl Cinque. I’ve followed your instructions and hope never to bother you about posting the link again! Thank you. Speaking of profiles, a small request to our newbies, and only if you feel comfortable doing so, could you indulge us by adding a few lines to yours just to help those of us with dodgy memories keep everyone straight – I was doing reasonably OK until Judys F and K joined us in the same week. It doesn’t have to be personal – just where you’re located would be a big help (thanks BrizLiz & good luck on Wednesday).

Loved all the other posts today but no time to comment this evening. Hoping the Monday fasters have had a great day.

Hey BrizLiz 1968 wow. I bet you noticed mega changes going back last year or was you just a babe in arms when you migrated? Ive been here 10 years. Last time I went home was 2014 and Im hoping to go back again this year for a few weeks. Can’t wait. Just got to shift these last 7 kilos so I can feel great when I go and shop til I drop!

Welcome Hathoratattoo and congratulations on completing your first fast day.

I am awaiting the scales tomorrow morning…

xxxx

Just to clarify I have had extensions before but for some reason this time I had a massive allergic reaction. So for some unexplained reason my body has now decided it doesn’t like it.

VDU, you can buy the Slendier products at Coles and Woolworths. Or have a go at the much cheaper konyaku noodles (they come in blocks or cute little ribbons) from Asian grocers but you’ll probably have to ask. My training is in O.T. but I haven’t worked outside the home for a long time as my OH was often working overseas for months at a time while our daughter was growing up. I’ve done a lot of different things from home – these days we’re both semi-retired and I just do a bit of editing.

Mel, how lovely to have a year off, it must be very demanding being a high school teacher. Another programme similar to your FitnessKing is MyFitnessPal.

Judyf thanks for the profile – losing weight at about half a kg a week is good I think – people make claims about huge losses but I believe it’s healthier for your body to lose it slowly. And if you’re embracing this as a permanent WOL, all you really need is a downward trend. So well done. And welcome to you HTattoo.

EA, what a kind OH to take on the shopping with the children while you sit and enjoy a coffee with complete strangers. My daughter thought it hilarious that I was meeting someone from a forum when I first met CharliesMum after all we’d said about cyber security. Saturdays are OK for me. I hope we’ll be able to find you after you lose another 7kgs; we’ll need a microscope.

BrizLiz, I had a very close boarding school friend in the UK who emigrated to Brisbane in the sixties as a ten pound pom. Those flights are killers as we get older, aren’t they? One thing I did notice on our recent trip to Spain was that the seats have finally got wider. (I no longer have to share my seat with the equivalent of 24 kilo bags of sugar.)

Hi Intesha, that sounds horrid. Who were you trying to impress with those eyelash extensions – do tell! You have an exciting life with all your travels. The Whitsundays will be super.

Hi to everyone. Intesha, I really empathise with what you’re going through as I did something similar to myself by tightlining my eyes in the wrong place (I’m a make-up addict and saw youtubers doing it, but misunderstood where they were putting it initially!). Within an hour I was experiencing all the things you mentioned, which steadily got worse as the day progressed. I was in Paris at the time so didn’t get to a doctor, and was worried about what was happening and if I’d done permanent damage… I kept washing my eyes out. By the next day they’d started to heal, thank God, and it took another day or so to go back totally to normal. It was scary and very unpleasant, so I really do know how you’re feeling but I’m sure you’ll be on top of it again soon. When it happened to me I read up as much as I could (as much as I could see anyway) on the net re allergic reactions, infections, etc, and concluded it’s best to keep things as far away from the actual eyeball as much as possible! I do hope you feel better soon.

Thin, thanks for the info re the Slendier. I also found a company where I could buy some online, as unless I get to Bunbury I’m not near a Coles. I may do that. It sounds interesting after researching it a bit. Ah, so you are an OT (amongst other things). I’d been contemplating doing some training to be an OT assistant of late for various reasons. I don’t know if I’ll proceed with it, though.

EA, that is nice indeed of your OH to make that offer when you voiced an urge to do that, sit and have coffee in a shopping centre whilst he has the kids. Of course it should be two-way in a relationship, but it’s nice when it’s offered freely anyway. A Saturday for a meet-up would work for me if it’s one out of the fortnight that OH works, as that’s when I’ll pop up to Perth to see my family, and I could incorporate a coffee anywhere that’s off the freeway round South Perth, Freo, wherever. Are you north, or south, EA? You said you were miles away. I am too (down in Donnybrook). Miss Melsy, how about you?

Re cyber security – yes, always something to be aware of for sure, but having met my OH online and many fabulous women as friends through another sort of forum, I’m sure we’re all pretty safe 🙂

BrizLiz, you’ve been here a long time! I came over in ’84. I went back several times over the years, but these days have no family there now and no urge to return. Yes, that flight is a killer.

hi to Hatho – sorry for the abbreviation, I think I’ll struggle to remember the rest of that one! Good luck in all your fasting endeavours.

How nice, Miss Melsy, to have a year off. You’ve got a good goal and I hope that year is what you need to succeed. Teachers work in such a hard job and it’s stressful, so I’m sure you’ll make the most of your time off.

Hello to everyone else, and hope your day is going well, fasting or non fasting… I’m going to write another post later on about something I discovered yesterday that I found interesting (may be old news to some, but I’ll mention it anyway!). But I don’t want to make this toooo long, so I’ll leave it at that for now.

Thin, not trying to impress anyone. Just because I’m over the hill doesn’t mean I don’t want to look good and try not to look like a pensioner!!!!! You never know whose looking. I wish I had been game enough to look for another partner via the media. Twenty years is a long time to be on your own. Any match makers out there LOL😉

My eyes are gradually getting better, still tender and vision blurry at times. Apart from doing some grocery shopping with my sunglasses on I haven’t left the house since arriving back last Friday. Vanity!!!!

Well after my FD yesterday, weighed in this morning at 69.8 and I agree with you Thin take the lowest one. I moved the scales four times and got four different answers.

Hi Everyone
Welcome Arvee, I’m pretty new in here too. Im interested how your fasts go 2 days in a row. Intesha, i hope your eyes are feeling better. I, too have met a Cyber friend, she is lovely but my kids were a bit apprehensive about me doing it. I’ve had a good day so far, no sugar, and am preparing for my fast again tomorrow

Hi Everyone, couldn’t find my way back into this thread ! First fast day today and its been ok so far. Counted up my calories yesterday to get a feel of where I was and found I had only had 600 calories on a non fast day so had a milk shake etc and got it up to 900 !

Welcome H.Tatoo and Arvee I am new to all this and a bit confuzzled lol.
Glad your eyes are beginning to feel better Itesha’ I don’t blame you for wanting to look your best, I think most of do don’t we ?
VDU yes I have been here longer than I was in the UK. EA yes I was a 10 pound Pom with a husband and 2 kids went on to have 2 more ozzies !
Hope you all had a good day.

I’m with you Thin, Arvee no way could I ever contemplate back to back FD’s. Your a star..

All the newbies on this thread all I can say is you have found the holy grail with 5:2 and will never need to look at another miracle weight loss program. I have been on this now for 62 weeks. Not always doing it perfectly and certainly not denying myself. I have gone from 87.1 to weigh in this morning 69.9.

I have struggled, plateaued and wondered why I was putting myself through it but now look at this stranger in the mirror and think WOW. Wish I had found out about this 20 years ago when I was pushing 105kg.

Thin thank you for your kind words. You CM and a few others no longer on this thread kept me on this path when I was at my lowest and hopefully we can give the newbies the strength to keep going when the going gets tough.

Going out to face the world today for the first time since my eye episode. Still not 100% but I don’t look like an alien now. Haven’t seen my Mum for two weeks so going down to the nursing home to wash her hair and do her nails.

Great post Intesha, very inspiring for the newbies. Congratulations on all your achievements. I agree and wish we’d known of fasting/5:2 twenty years ago.

Welcome back Janieau – it’s good that you’ve been able to see some areas that you could improve upon. I, for one, had a tendency to over-compensate on non-FDs at the beginning. Stick with it because you will find that fasting automatically re-sets your appetite and helps with portion control. Nevertheless, I would still consider 1-2kgs over 3 weeks of fasting a good start.

How you can survive three FDs in a row is beyond me! As a FD draws to a close, I’m buoyed by thoughts of the next day’s food offerings. Taking encouragement from, “I can have that the day after the day after tomorrow” would require some inner strength indeed.

That made me smile, Thin “embellished the facts for a quick sale”…haha. I remember the days of the newspaper ads and voice messages. I never met anyone through that myself (waited for the internet age, I think, which I certainly gave a good nudge to before finding my OH!). It was an interesting experience. I’m glad things worked out well for you from that ad.

There’s quite a few really great success stories I’ve read on here, like yours and Intesha’s (and others) and it’s very inspiring to hear. I’d originally thought I just wanted to shift my usual 5 kilos that when that piles on is my turning point to say “enough”, but truly, having done the conversion back to stones I’m definitely thinking more now (as long as it suits my body and how much effort I have to go to to achieve it – if my body has really reached its lowest point later I’d not push it and start starving, or anything ghastly). I’ll assess as I’m going, I certainly don’t want to lose my “womanly” bits, but I’m certainly in no danger of that yet!!!

The thing I was going to mention was an article I came across on the net the last day I posted on here. That day was following my last fast day, where according to the scales I’d put on .5 of a kilo – gone from 76.7 back up to 77.2. Even though I said I don’t take the scale weight as the important thing, blah, blah, I was a bit dispirited and kept thinking, well, it could be fluid retention, but I’m not drinking excessively and retaining it, as far as I can see, am I just kidding myself?

After I’d showered and got dressed, though, I saw that my jeans were wearing really, really well – the dreaded muffin top wasn’t even in sight, and I was thrilled. It made realise I was right, and the scales weren’t an accurate reflection. So I looked up on the net about putting on weight on the scales and what that can be in terms of fluid retention, or whatever. I discovered an article about glycogens and carbohydrates. It was some kind of fitness/weight type expert and he was saying, basically, if I can summarise as accurately as I can from memory, that fluid attaches to a high carbohydrate diet (perhaps the clue is in the word there, carbo “hydrate). When you eat a diet low in carbs your weight can show up as quite a big drop on the scales because you actually lose a lot of fluid with it, which is why low carb diets are associated with rapid loss. He explained it’s not actual fat, as such, it’s purely from the loss in fluid.

Conversely, if you’ve consumed a quite high carb diet it will retain the fluid and show as a gain on the scales, but is still not an accurate reflection of your actual “fat”. Maybe everyone on here knows all this anyway, but I didn’t. I’d thought of fluid retention as purely through the liquids you drank (or high liquid foods), also with an influence of salt, but I never knew that about carbohydrates. It’s made a bit more sense to me now anyway.

So for the next few days I had my non-fast days, and did what I’ve started to do, eating normally, but with changes during the day to bring the amount of calories down a bit without “dieting” on those days as such. It’s another fast day today and I weighed myself this morning, just out of interest, and I’ve dropped down to 76.4 today, so that extra .5 has gone plus some… so I’m well chuffed today!!

And a hi and welcome to Arvee – I also am in awe that you could do 2 FDs in a row. I could if I had to, but I’d certainly prefer not to! But whatever works for you, eh.

Good luck to anyone also fasting today 🙂

Hi, Cinque, nice to see you again 🙂 yes, it is spot the Aussie a bit in the Aussie thread…. in WA there are a particularly large number of poms. Makes me feel quite “at home”!

I bet it is quiet now your family have moved to their new place. Always a bit odd that, great to have your space back but does leave a sort of empty vibe that takes a while to move on from. I can relate to a relieved cat. My daughter’s extremely patient cat has had lots of “loving” from our little one that she could have sometimes done without, but to her credit has never turned on him or scratched him, and we constantly remind him not to keep picking up her up and hassling her when she really wants to be left alone.

I’m glad you got something out of the info I passed on. I wasn’t sure if anyone would relate or be interested, but I was so thought I’d pass it on. I had a good fast day yesterday and on the scales had lost another .5 so down to 75.9 today. Lovely to see, though in line with what I was saying I’ll expect to still see the slight variations up then down and so on, but as Kate says in her book (and as I think MerryMe had an illustration of recently) on the continuum it is still actually going down even though it doesn’t appear so in a linear form. And how did your day go yesterday? Knowing when you need it and listening to your body like that sounds like you’ve really gotten well in touch with it.

I was thrilled to discover the Slendier brand in our local IGA today, so was able to grab a couple to try without committing myself to a big pack bought online. From reviews it seems it may be something of an acquired taste, so it could go either way as to how I like it. I should do a search on here to see what was said when it was discussed last.

Hi everyone
Cinque, it was a lovely day in Melbourne. My OH picked mushrooms with the 3yo granddaughter and I took her to an icecream shop later this afternoon – not a FD for me today! VDU- yes I have mixed feelings when kids move out and back. My 22 yo son moved back last weekend:) with his dog:(. Thinatlast- I’d forgotten about those noodles. I will get them again. Yesterday I tried something different (for me) with my fast and didn’t eat any food til nearly dinner time. That worked very well for me. It will depend on how many people are at work if I was to do this again on a FD.😀

Hello everyone!I am a 55 y.o 5,4″ female living in Mildura, Australia. I first heard about Intermittent Fasting via an article I read in a newspaper supplement. Then I read the book by Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer. Not long after I also viewed the BBC Horizon documentary : Eat Fast and Live Longer”. In 2013 I lost approx 12 kgs following this way of eating. I did not get to what I would consider my goal weight (approx 62 kg) but I did get down to approx 67 kg and felt fantastic for the first time in ages!. Unfortunately, I failed to keep at it in 2014. Although not wanting to to make excuses, I think my lapse occurred due to comfort eating during relationship issues and also in that year going on my first cruise with girlfriends which ended up being a “food/eating” fest while out at sea! Since my early-mid 20s I have had issues with my weight yo-yoing anywhere between 62-97 kg. Luckily, I am nowhere near my highest weight. That was back in 1999-2000 and I ended up with high blood pressure also. I am currently around 78 kg and now that I am feeling motivated and strong inside I am embarking on the IF journey once again, as I know IT WORKS (for me anyway). I have so far begun my first week and the scales showed a drop of 5 lbs/2.6 kg. Even though I know this is mainly fluid at first, I am looking forward to seeing a gradual decline in the numbers. This has worked in the past for me, even while I have been gong through menopause (:-( This time I am incorporating some ideas from all new research concerning the importance of limiting processed foods, reducing/eliminating sugar, eating greens and coloured vegies/fruit plus good fats. I am only eating small amounts of wholegrain bread (as bread and cakes were my big downfall). I have a new bike and enjoying riding for exercise. I know where I went wrong in the past – giving this WOE away. The challenge is to keep on keeping on, even when life gets tough.So here’s to the new me! 😀

Morning Cinque, woke to a little rain after a muggy 30C yesterday spent in the garden. Still quite humid. We have a greyhound staying for the weekend, a really sweet-natured dog.

Judyf, when my brothers still hadn’t left home by about age 25, my Dad sold his house and bought a one bedroom bungalow. I have a feeling that when our DD eventually leaves home, that will be it, we won’t see her return. Three more years of uni anyway.

Enjoy your cooking today Cinque; I’m making chicken & mushroom casserole which is a family favourite. It’s really hearty and filling. I’m afraid I still buy stock. Half price at Coles this week 😆

Welcome IFfan. You’ve come to the right place. This is definitely a way of eating for life as you’ve discovered.

All good fodder for our coffee when we finally get together VDU – what happened to EA last week I wonder? I’ll be interested to learn how the Buddhist philosophy has shaped the way you live your life. Assuming you are a vegetarian, how long have you been? I was a vegetarian when we first came to Oz from California but found it all too hard. I think it would be more acceptable these days but we did go to bbqs back then where meat was literally the only fare. Times change.

I’ve never tried the Slendier rice, please let me know what it’s like. OK, so what I’ve heard people say who don’t like it is that it has a rubbery texture – and there’s quite a strong smell.

What did your daughter study at uni? I also left home at 17, went to work as a live-in nanny until I had saved the one way fare to the USA and never returned to the childhood home. I remember being dirt-poor as a uni student. We didn’t have any expectation about being able to afford a house (I think I was about 30 before I’d saved the deposit on my first house in California) and I remember feeling very proud of myself when I got my first job and was able to afford a car and a stereo.

Merry, I’m just sitting down to my standard 2pm cauliflower soup, about an hour later than usual as I’ve been busy cooking all morning, and noticed this batch is much hotter than usual. I believe it was you who said it was so hot that neither you nor your OH could eat it. I must have got hold some of that extra potent cayenne that you had. It’s certainly slowing me down a bit!

Yes, indeed, all good fodder for when we meet for coffee 🙂 speaking of which, I’m going up to Perth (Mundaring then Duncraig) next weekend, and could meet up on the Saturday on my way up if that suited? I hope EA may be reading too and maybe would be able to make it, plus Miss Melsy, I think it was, although we haven’t seen her posting for a while. Anyway, just putting it out there that that would be a good day for it, for yourself and/or anyone else in the Perth vicinity, if you’re available and willing!!

I have been vegetarian for 25 years now. I’m not 100 per cent, in that I do eat prawns and squid rings (I don’t like any other fish and never ate that before being vego, but do like those two things) and if a bit of ham or bacon ends up in a quiche I have I’ll most likely pick the bits out, or else maybe not bother. So basically I’m not fanatical about it, but on the whole am vego, yes. When I started the pickings were slim, I agree, and things are much better these days. Going off to California sounds like an interesting decision, and I’d love to hear more about that when we meet also, and whether (like myself) you were keen to get out of the house as much as I was, seeing as you didn’t go back there again! I was going to say before perhaps the ones who leave early it’s because things aren’t so nice at home, but didn’t say it as I’m sure in lots of cases that’s just not true (for my daughter and uni, and I’m sure in your daughter’s case too, Cinque), and I can’t project that onto others 🙂 Interesting what your mum said about boys and girls in that regard. She may well be right! Re the vego options at pubs, still slim pickings often I find in pubs. They may (if I’m lucky, depending on the location of the pub) have a vego option, but it’s usually something really bland or boring. Or you get the “oh, we can amend something with meat to suit you” which means they take out the meat and the sauce and you have a bit of pasta and a couple of tomatoes or something. Quite often I’m much happier eating my own food that I cook, or eating at Indian restaurants, which is my all time favourite.. yum… shouldn’t make myself dwell on that on a fasting day. That soup sounds nice, Thin, by the way. I saw on the recipe page you’ve put in lots of recipes. I should get into doing more things, but so far tend to stick to what I’m used to. When I get bored with that I will, though. I’ll let you know how the “rice” goes. I too read some people find it too rubbery and smelly, so I’m really not sure how I’ll go. Only one way to find out….

Thin, my daughter studied communications, with a view to going into radio or television. She did have a stint working in those areas afterwards but found it very superficial and boring, and went through quite a few other office type things afterwards until she found her passion, which happens to be teaching pole dancing, of all things (not of the dodgey variety!). So apart from taking care of my lovely grandson, that’s what she does now, teaching and taking part in pole competitions and such like. She’s very good at it and her body looks like that of an athlete from it, so she never has to bother about other kinds of exercise at all. She knows she’ll not be able to do that forever, but for now she’s enjoying it. I’ve been to lots of her comps and watched her, the proud mother yelling and screaming for her (they like a lot of audience support!). It’s lots of fun.

Keeping the coffee talk separate to increase the chances of it being seen. Interesting about the pole dancing as my young niece does that in the UK. A girlfriend and I tried it once about 20 years ago just for a laugh. I think we were both rubbish at it from memory. Have you ever seen, ‘The English Gents’? We saw them live at ‘La Soiree’ a few weeks ago. Make yourself a nice cup of herbal tea and help pass a FD afternoon:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCKHlYhz2Xw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hAOHi2jEUbw

Hi everyone,
Welcome IFfan, I’m fairly new here too. Goodo you for getting on your bike. I’m afraid I don’t do very much exercise- a walk a couple of times a week.
Cinque, I liked your discussion on ‘mindfulness’. I could never keep anything nice in my cupboards but over the last month I’ve had dark chocolate and am able to limit myself to 2 squares on non-fast days and days I have no alcohol 🙂 I’m enjoying one glass of red on Wednesdays and much less than usual on weekends.
I lost 600 grams this week- not a lot but I don’t have very much to lose so don’t expect to lose it too quickly
Today is a fast day for me and I’ve only had one tea and one coffee with milk so far.

Hi thin
No i didn’t get any travel scales and we are going for 6 weeks Aug/Sept. Hmm wonder if OH would let me pack them. Of course if it’s between them and my hair straightener… Lol
Lol picturing Cinque with pants around her knees