Congrats Intesha!!! Well done you 🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
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Well done Intesha on your new PB! Yay!!! That must feel good!
Merry, well done on maintaining your weight whilst being away 3 weeks! I hope I can do similar when I go away.
Hi Judy and thanks for your kind words.
Surprise on the scales this morning, down to 77kg today from 77.4kg yesterday morning, despite breaking my fd late afternoon with nuts, cheese, chocolate, cake etc. then went out for Thai dinner – had stir fry chicken, veg & cashews but limited myself to about 2 tablespoons of rice. I expected the scale to be up this morning but I guess the fasting I did till 1pm yesterday still helped. Slow & steady… Just have to get control of the little binges late in the afternoon.
Planned to have a fd again today to make up for yesterday but may just do 16:8 (or better) instead. I am pretty used to that now.
Heard from my mother overnight “I was telling your sister about how you’ve lost weight doing 5:2 and she said tell her to do 16:8, works much better”. Mum went on to say “if she did lose weight she’s put it all back on” 😬 My mother’s had 6 children and remained at about 8 stone her entire life (now 85)…
I like that saying, every day is a new beginning 😊🌺
Hey Beth,
I have been thinking about your 5pm problem and wonder if it would help to set up your fasts so you can break it at 5pm ish.
eg If you started fasting after lunch (say 1:30 pm) on, say, a Monday, then that evening might be easier to get though – because you have had breakfast and lunch.
Then fast until 5:30 the next day (Tuesday!) (maybe have your 500 calories in the morning) and break your fast with a lovely healthy meal in the evening.
It wouldn’t be quite the 36 hours that morning to morning fasts give, but it would be a much more successful day than keeping on breaking your fast and feeling like you have undermined yourself.
I keep thinking there must be a way to make it suit the rhythms of your life.
Intesha, what a great time you are having! Woot for that lovely healthy weight! And woot for living the pleasures of life! They are good for our health too!
Well, hmm, mostly anyway!
Yay for PERSEVERANCE anyway!
Hi Merry, congratulations for navigating around those difficulties so successfully! I am sitting here typing with on hand while Miss 2 is on my knee. About to go to the park and then drop her off and get back to my business plan (with a rest inbetween I think!)
Hope you are feeling better!
Judy thanks so much! I do hope you are better now too and can get back into the swing of everything in life, including fasting. Cheers to OH too!
Must go! Best wishes all!
Hi everyone!
I saw the doc on SBS the other day and thought to give the 5:2 a go. I’m French in Brisbane. I’ve been travelling a lot for work, left France 10 years ago and since then have been steadily gaining weight. I’m now officially overweight at 76kg for 1.67m. My dad has early Alzeihmer (how do you spell that?!!) and I’m scared I’ll get it too if I don’t make some adjustments to my diet. I”m a bit scared of fast days, but I think on a busy work day I might be able to pull through. Does anyone feel tired or food obsessed on these days?
I’m very happy to have found this website and this forum and I’ll try to visit and post often to keep myself in check. Until then if you have any idea, tip or advice for me, I’d love to hear them! Thanks
Welcome ‘eloelo (sounds more English than French!). You’ve come to the right place. It’s great that the documentary keeps inspiring. You ask for tips. My advice is to read Dr M.’s Fast Diet book before you do anything. It’s an easy read and it’s good to have it so you can re-read it from time to time. Next measure absolutely everything – thighs, upper arms, calves, etc included. Then, plan your fast days (FDs) in advance so you know exactly what to expect on a FD. Don’t worry about the NFDs for now, just work on getting the FDs right to start with. Post regularly and ask us anything! We wish you well with your new, healthy way of life.
Intesha, great news, good job. Enjoy your time with your friends, you deserve it all. I’ve been in King Tut’s tomb too – decades ago. I can still remember it very well.
Well done to you too Merry, that’s a great accomplishment.
Good luck with the business plan Cinque. Is this your second week of 6:1? I am keen to hear how Lael and you get on with one fast a week. Chat tomorrow.
Now I have to go back a page so there will have to be a new post when I’ve re-read those.
Thanks for the prompt answer! I’ll read the book then, and I’m measuring everything today. I started reading this forum previous posts to see how people are doing, and it’s very encouraging to see that even through struggles and real life stories, people hold up! Will be back soon, tomorrow is my first FD so I’m gearing up and going to the shop to buy the book, some salad, tomatoes, and other low cal food. Bye for now!
Hi Cinque, thank you for the advice. At the moment I’m doing dinner at around 6/7pm then nothing (except water) till somewhere between 1-3pm the next day when I generally have a boiled egg and raw veggies and a cup of beef soup. I’m not at the point yet where I can do just one meal a day but hopefully working towards just one meal a day at night.
I think the eating when I get home from work is a loooong time habit. When I was single I often didn’t cook dinner, I would just start grazing when I got home (cheese, crackers, soup, chips, whatever was around). I need to cook meals now as my husband is a farmer and does physical work all day. I’m not sure I could switch the fasting times around so that I was skipping dinner, that would be too big a stretch for me.
I think the key might be to have some raw veggies washed and cut, ready to eat when I get home PLUS start preparing dinner straight away. I’d have probably been ok yesterday if I’d got home at normal time and started dinner. We’d been given an early mark at work so I was home at 4.45pm and thought it’s a bit too early to start dinner (we were having omelette & salad so would have only taken about 10-15 mins to prepare). Big mistake, I started grazing and then went out for Thai.
That said, still 400g down from yesterday morning so I should not be complaining. I just want to learn better self discipline. Although if I had that in spades, I wouldn’t have gained weight in the first place!
I think this is my 6th week so am still learning. It’s happened 2 or 3 times now on FD’s so now I know my weak point, I can make a conscious choice to prevent it.
It’s nearly 1pm so I’m off to finish the leftover Thai stir fry. And put my new weight into the tracker. I do like to see that line in the graph always heading down 😊
Hi eloelo and welcome. I agree with Thin, great to read the book first, especially after seeing the doco), that’s what I did too. 6 weeks in and 4.4kg gone, I absolutely believe it’s the secret to losing weight successfully (having tried lots of other diets). This is sustainable for life. Best of luck on your journey!
Judy, I hope you’re feeling better now. Your OH is a star.
Stephy, for some people snacking awakens the hunger dragon and it’s hard to stop. Good idea to re-read ‘the book’ and get a good reminder of what it’s all about. Try to embrace hunger, think of the benefits its having on your body and know that hunger comes and goes in waves and can be distracted by activities other than eating. With every snack, you’re depleting an already meagre calorie bank, whereas, if you stay strong and save your calories for later in the day, psychologically you know you still have all that to come so there’s less tendency to cave in.
Beth, I too was thinking of what might work better for you. It has to be sustainable for you so it’s not helpful if you face an inner battle every FD. You’ve still made great progress and weren’t really asking for advice but sometimes on here you get it anyway! With the cake and chocolate, etc that you brought home for your husband on a FD, an option is to take a share of it and set it aside for tomorrow. That way, you are not missing out but also not blowing all your effort up until that time. This worked for me as I didn’t like missing out but I’m also far too stubborn to blow a FD. In time, I found that, the next day I didn’t always want those things so it was a double bonus. Also, you’re trying to cut carbs on NFDs. That’s always a good thing but I think I’d work on perfecting the FDs and just enjoying the NFDs for now because the FDs really are key to making this sustainable. Anyway, you’ve had good success on the scales so you can safely ignore all this if you choose! You’ll be counting the days to your romantic trip to Maui and I hope you have a fabulous time. Will you continue fasting while away? Against the backdrop of the native population you will still be very trim.
Welcome Braia. How are you getting on?
Hi Lael, thanks for your links and well done on your success. Now there are three of us at goal weight and two more almost at the finish line. Will you be joining Cinque and me tomorrow?
It’s been great reading everyone’s news!
Cinque, your cafe plans sound like they’re coming together very harmoniously!
Intesha, well done for breaking through to new lower number on scales!
Merry, it’s good to read your reports of what it’s like fasting while staying away from home. We’re going to be traveling to spend time with relatives at Christmas and I have a bit of trepidation. Reading your experience helps me understand that I’ll need to be realistic and not expect as much as I would when at home.
Welcome eloelochat!
Judy, I too shed quite a bit of weight when I recently felt ill and couldn’t eat much, though it was not a very enjoyable experience. I hope you are feeling better by the time you read this.
Hi Braia! Like Thin, I too wonder how things are going for you?
Stephy, let us know how you do experimenting with leaving more time between eating. I started out eating 3 or 4 small meals, though found that the later in the day I can wait to eat my first food for the day, the less hungry I am. I usually wait until after 2 pm to eat my first food and then have two meals.
Beth, hey that’s great that you registered a loss even after the snacks! That’s happened to me too! I also sometimes wonder after that happens, what the scales would have said, had I not eaten those snacks!
Speaking of snacks, because of all the emotional binge type eating I found myself thrown by for most of the week, I opted to fast yesterday (Friday) which converted my week from 6:1 back into 5:2. Unfortunately, during the binge episodes I just wasn’t able to use will power to halt the binge eating pattern. What did put a stop to it was speaking up about something that had been really ‘eating at me’! Once I spoke my peace, all the hunger that had been nagging at me felt like it evaporated in an instant and so I decided to fast! Whew! …Free at last, free at last!
Thin and Cinque, wishing you both easy fasting days tomorrow. I’ve thought about joining you, though since I fasted yesterday, I may leave my next fast for a little later in the week.
Hi Lael, isn’t it good to know that you can add an extra FD whenever needed and get right back on track? And good to let the pesky people know what’s been bugging you too!
So, Team Sunday will be me, Cinque, ‘eloelo and maybe Intesha. Looking forward to it. I’ve been under 60kgs for a few days in a row and then an annoying cafe lunch while out for a drive in the country yesterday put me over the 60 line. We checked the menus at several places before I conceded that I’d have to settle on a burger. Thankfully, no chips. I know, I could have passed the bread over to OH but that would have been a sad looking offering on the plate for $18. Afterwards, I wished I’d just had a nice coffee. I would have been at least as happy with that, if not happier. It seems everywhere you go, it’s carbs, carbs, carbs on the menu. Burgers and chips seem to feature heavily on menus all over the world nowadays. Or maybe we’re just going to all the wrong places.
FD today. Weight this morning 67.7. I had a cinnamon donut with a skim latte, cous cous, chicken and pumpkin salad for lunch, two glasses of wine and beer battered barramundi with chips for dinner ( did not eat all the fish or chips). Not too bad in the scheme of things. I could have knocked back a few scotches when I got home after I found that some low life had stolen the number plates off my car. The police are coming today to take fingerprints if they left any.
Welcome eloelo you’ve certainly come to the right place for support and encouragement.
Thank you everyone for your comments.
Thanks for all the support and encouragement everyone. Certainly it’s nice to know j can pop my head in here daily to get the inspiration needed
Weight this morning 73.8 – which considering Friday’s eating with girlfriends was good.
Lael yesterday I only ate two meals and today plan to do the same. I think for me this will be the key to keeping my weight going down. And stopping snacking.
Planning on fasting Monday and Thursday this week.
Hello Sunday Fasters! And everyone else! 🙂
I’m really enjoying waking up to a fast day today. The last couple of weeks have been so hectic. Today is peaceful and I can just cruise along with my little fasting rituals. (Although I need to get a lot more cafe planning done, I hope my brain can manage it!)
I did 6:1 in one week a while ago, Thin, but then decided I really wasn’t at maintenance yet. However on Thursday I did think I didn’t need to fast. I wonder what I will think next Thursday!
Welcome Eloelochat! Oh dear you are an example of the French way of eating keeping people from being overweight. Shame on our Australian way! It is so frustrating to have that weight piling on no matter what you do! I so hope that 5:2 really suits you!
Welcome to your first fast day! Cheering you on!
Beth, I understand that feeling when you are so hungry and you still need to prepare the meal. The salad sticks idea is a very good one!
I try to have something already made in the fridge, but that isn’t always possible.
O dear Thin, such a pity a meal out at a cafe couldn’t be something wonderful. But a good Sunday Fast will surely counterbalance it nicely.
I still get hungry for junky food (chicken and chips) and my local shop do them beautifully. But I eat them maybe once a month these days, and am getting better (touch wood and whistle) at just eating what I enjoy and then chucking the rest out. I bet the weeks that happens I will give myself two fast days!
Lael, so glad you got to say your piece, and especially that it made you so calm. I know eating can be used for so many things (I am sure that as a teenager especially, I was using it to plug down anger).
You have such a wonderful way of putting together ideas and actions and analysis, I love your posts!
Intesha, what an awful thing to happen! What a nasty end of the day. And now you need to do all the follow up to get the numberplates replaced. I hope it is straightforward. And I hope they find whoever did it!
Stephy, congratulations. Your weight is going down nicely. And it sounds as if you are getting into a nice rhythm with the fast days – which makes it all feel easier and more comfortable I hope! I bet your clothes are starting to get a bit looser!
I’m off to make another cup of tea. Best wishes all!
Oh Intesha, how annoying for someone to steal your number plates! grrrrr…
Thin, thank you for the advice, always appreciated. I did actually bring home 2 small slices of cake from work, gave one to my husband and put the other in fridge. Once I started snacking, I took the cake out of the fridge and ate it… It does seem in the moment like you really can’t stop. I think the trick is not to start if you can possibly help it. I also agree about getting the fast days right first before worrying too much about the NFD’s, except for the fact that I am impatient and the holiday coming up in a week’s time! So I’m doing alternate day fasting this week – Sun, Tue, Thurs, Sat and see how it goes. My goal was 75kg by next week but that probably won’t happen. I will be pleased though if I at least crack the 75’s.
Thin, I am planning to continue fasting whilst away. I have no intention of coming back having regained what I’ve worked to lose so far. If I were much closer to 65kg, I’d be more lenient but I’m still in the early stages and it would really demotivate me if I ate whatever I wanted and came back at my starting weight of 81+ or more.
I would like to do 16:8 each day but I’m wondering what will happen when my husband wants to have the breakfast buffet each day. I don’t think I can convince him to skip the eggs, bacon, tropical fruit etc each day but equally I don’t think I can go with him and sit there and not eat (but maybe I can?). It seems a little unfair to make him go to breakfast each day by himself but I’m not sure how to get around it unless he agrees to skip breakfast and have an early lunch perhaps (as he does like to sleep in on hols).
And I agree life is for living and you should enjoy your holidays etc etc but I can still enjoy my holiday and eat healthy food twice a day. I’ve always believed any healthy eating plan/diet has to be sustainable for life and therefore needs to go with you on holidays.
The 500 cal days might be a bit trickier but perhaps just doing 16:8 for 10 days will suffice. I won’t have scales so will just have to do my best.
Happy fast day everyone!
Beth 🙂
Oh gosh, I am so happy to be here, everyone is so nice, I love the personal messages from everyone to each and all.
I bought ” The book” yesterday. And I think I overall ate very little yesterday for a NFD and in comparison with my normal me. You all here and the book must have set me to diet mood, which is a mood I am NEVER in!!!
Today first FD. To complicate things I raise funds for breast cancer in October, so cooking up a storm of brownies and cupcakes today. I’ll set one aside for tomorrow, as suggested earlier in the posts. Such a lovely advice.The fear to miss out on food is strong in me, I eat like a 5 years old these days: piling up food on my plate at buffet.
I found that the book was very simple yet informative. Don’t eat if not hungry, stay away from sugar rushes and insulin spikes.
I am very hopeful that this diet will help me get rid of my belly (the only place I store fat these days, keep being asked if I’m pregnant!!!). And of course I really want to protect my brain, so I think I’m here for the long run.
Good luck to all on this fast day, for some reason I’m excited about it. Maybe because I’m usually not hungry in the mornin 😉 Skim Latte and off to a b-day party. Let’s hope they only have yucky kids food that doesn’t make me drool!!!
Thinatlast I hear you: restaurants don’t offer healthy simple choices. I do love a good burger though!
Intesha: I hope they catch them. It happened to us on my first year in Brisbane.yikes.
Lael and Cinque, happy fasting day! I’m sure I’ll be back during the day when I am hungry, or don’t know how to use my little calory allowance. I might go shopping and stick to my list, some ideas from the book look good. Anyway, have to go, talk to you all later!!
Wow, what a great weekend it’s been on here. As I’m the last to wake up, I get to read all these posts with my coffee.
Intesha, what a horrible thing to return to after a lovely day out. It strikes me as rather short-sighted to steal such an item but I suppose people with those inclinations aren’t the brightest.
‘eloelo, that’ll take some willpower not to lick any spoons – and on your very first FD! But what a great induction into fasting if you can do it! I totally empathise with the ‘missing out’ thing. For years, I couldn’t bear to see to my OH eating something without having it too. After two years of 5:2, I’m so much better and I just think to myself, ‘it’s your insulin, not mine’ when he eats or drinks foods that are no longer part of my diet. It’s helpful to know that whatever you desire on a FD will probably still be there tomorrow. So, good luck today! You sound prepared. Do you know about myfitnesspal for calorie counting? I hope we hear from you often.
Beth, I agree with you completely about the WOL needing to fit in with all life’s scenarios including holidays. I got quite anxious about how I would cope on my first two overseas holidays after a year of 5:2. One to Spain for 7 weeks, the other to Africa for 5 weeks. I couldn’t have done it without my travel scales (which themselves weigh 700gms). On the trip to Spain, I fasted once a week for the first 3 weeks but we were walking so much that I lost too much weight so stopped fasting and practiced mindful eating for the other 4 weeks, weighing daily. I came home the same weight. On the trip to Africa I was worried about those breakfast buffets as engaging with the smiling omelette chef is such a great way to start the day before heading out on safari. So, you could consider breakfast to breakfast fasting. This would allow you to enjoy the time with your husband, he won’t be deprived, and then it would be a 24 hour fast until the next breakfast buffet.
Hi Cinque, I hope it’s a peaceful, cruisey FD for you. And that you get lots of planning done. And Stephy, good job on reducing the snacking. Time for my second coffee – taken with almond & coconut milk on FDs in case the newbies are interested. This allows me two decent coffees with freshly ground beans for only 20 cals. It doesn’t froth but it’s a really decent substitute and less cals than skim milk which I don’t like at all.
Happy Sunday everyone, seeing as I’m one of the first ones to wake up!!!!
Well that was quite a fortnight, doing really well the first of the two weeks, but then we had friends arrive, some from Christchurch and some from the UK and all my willpower went completely out the window!!! I felt like I ate for NZ and it showed on the scales when they had all gone by Thursday and I finally jumped on the scales. I had a great FD on Fri and have tried again today but have been so intensely busy since Thursday I’m feeling absolutely worn out today, just can’t seem to find any energy, so went till about 4pm then hit the courgette and chicken soup, all good, then a piece of homemade blueberry and almond flan with whipped cream and berry coulis!!!!! I told OH that I’d see how I go, may not eat any more today but whatever happens, I will get back on the horse tomorrow, weigh in in the morning so hope to go down on the scales again!! I am finding the 16:8 great though and can work it into my schedule at the moment which is a big plus.
Sorry to hear about the plates Intesha, sounds awful, why on earth would someone want to do something so bloody obvious??!!
Welcome eloelo, which part of France are you from?? Your English is very good and I do hope your first fast day is going well.
Good luck with the business plan Cinque, sure it will be a walk in the park??
I know what you mean about carb laden lunch menus Thin, I did manage to find a salad in a cafe when we were out last Weds, but it was smothered in dressing!!!!
Beth – I have often eaten carrot whilst preparing dinner, but after much thought I am only fueling the habit with a healthier option instead of kicking it altogether, then on a NFD I find I still eat whilst cooking, (just not such a healthy option!!!) Decided instead to just not pick/graze altogether, didn’t happen overnight though.
Time for a wee doze I feel, looks like another heavy shower heading this way,
Bye for now, Turn
Not so much about the homemade blueberry and almond flan with whipped cream and berry coulis on a Sunday please Turn! Any luck with the sale of your business? I agree ‘eloelo writes like a native English speaker. I punctuate it like that because it reminds me of the old British TV copper shows, ” ‘ello, ‘ello, ‘ello”.
Here in the west, we’ll be going from winter straight into summer with no spring it seems. A chilly 18C today and on Wednesday, the forecast is 30C.
Hi All,
Weigh in this morning and I’m back to goal weight! Yay! Like you said Thin, when on maintenance and for whatever reason, we veer off course, we can find our way back by adding in an extra FD! …On that note, I wanted to ask you about ‘trigger ranges’. Is there a rule of thumb for what is an optimal spread of grams or kilograms between minimum desired weight and top of range weight that triggers an extra FD? I’d set a 500 gram spread, though I’m now questioning whether that is too narrow? Since you’ve been maintaining for quite awhile, thought you might be able to guide me here! Thanks!
I also agree with you about the carbs out there in cafe and restaurant dining, Thin. I too find difficulty navigating healthily when eating out. One place I’ve found as a ‘go to’ when possible is ‘Grill’d’ which offers a low carb almond flour based burger bun. I’m aware that Grill’d burger cafes are only located in city locations, so it’s not like I can pull up in Tenant Creek to find one, but the franchise seems to be a success and I’m seeing more of them around! They offer a range of protein options such as chicken, beef and vegetarian. I even eat their sweet potato chips and so far when I’ve had those along with a burger on the low carb bun, I’ve walked away happy that my snacking gremlin hasn’t been unleashed!
Intesha, how upsetting to have your number plates were stolen. I’d feel angry too! In NSW stealing number plates has become rampant! Apparently criminals typically use stolen plates for fuel theft. This theft is now so common that all new petrol stations being are installing pre-pay pumps. CCTV no longer works because the thieves cars always end up sporting number plates are always found to be stolen and the thieves continually need a steady new supply of these to stay ahead of the cops! There is now a NSW police campaign to encourage motorists install tamper resistant number plate screws! Our cars sit out in the open, so my partner and I should really consider getting some!
Beth, not sure you’ve ever found this, and maybe it is just me, but I find magic in the skies when I travel on long haul flights! The magic is that I find that I surprisingly usually lose weight while on one of those flights! I often find I shed from a half kilogram to a kilo each direction! I’m not sure if it is because I travel economy and very little food is served (and much of it I don’t like so don’t eat) or what? I do know my bowels move more from all the change in air pressure so maybe that? Anyway, something to keep in mind that you may be lighter from when you take off and land! Wondering if anyone else who travels on long haul flights finds this happens too?
One more thing I’ve found is that like Thin pointed out, I too find those breakfast buffets can work in well with 5:2 on NFDs as long as there is a wide variety of choices. When the buffet isn’t just carby foods like cereal, toast and reconstituted fruit juice, I will start with a couple of slices of fresh melon or in Hawaii maybe even paw paw (which is good for digestion)along with a good full fat plain yogurt to go with those lower carb/sugar fruits. Other times I choose the scrambled eggs or omelette with grilled tomato and I like crispy bacon so also include that on my plate. Eating such a breakfast can enable me to go through without eating anything more till an early dinner. But Thin’s idea of going from breakfast to breakfast sounds good too!By the way, I love Hawaii! You’ll be staying on Oahu and/or hopping over to other islands? I’ve spent quite a bit of time on Maui!
eloelochat, good for you for raising the funds for breast cancer and I envy that you were able to make the brownies and cupcakes on a FD and not eat any of the batter or finished product! I hope your FD (fasting day) continues to go well and that the birthday party only serves things that you don’t classify as ‘foods’! I’m gluten free, which actually works well for me because I’ve come to categorize many otherwise tempting foods into the ‘non-food’ category. I instead admire them as beautiful decorations! …By the way, the belly is where I’ve carried most of my excess weight, it’s just that I’m too old for anyone to ask me about pregnancy! Here’s the myfitnesspal link that Thin mentioned and that I use too. I wouldn’t have gotten to maintenance without using it: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/
Turn, that’s good to read that 16:8 is working so well! I find both fasting and healthy eating the most challenging when I’m tired. Hoping you are able to rest up now that the friends have gone.
Great that you are able to eat out with girlfriends and still register positive results on the scales Stephy! I love that living it up occasionally can be a part of our 5:2 health journey!
Cinque, sounds like your FD is going well! I loved reading how you are following the sense of feeling in your body and letting that guide you into maintenance.
Hi all,
Thanks Thin for the idea but 2 issues – I’m not up to just one meal a day yet and it would be a long day and night between breakfast and breakfast! I discussed the breakfast issue with my husband and floated the idea of skipping brekky and have an earlyish lunch and he didn’t seem to mind that. We’ll see how it works out. He did agree it would be hard for me to sit through breakfast surrounded by all that food and not eat. Perhaps I’ll surprise myself and be able to do it. His first suggestion was you could just have a little bit. Um, no.
Good luck with the business plan Cinque, hope it’s all coming together.
Turn, you’re right, perhaps need to change the habit to healthy food first (celery, beans, cucumber) then work to eliminate it altogether.
Hope it’s going well Eloelo, you’re game going shopping on your first fast day! I hate going to the supermarket on FD’s – way too many temptations. I should wear blinkers in there…
Beautiful warm day here in the Hunter Valley, and up to early 30’s this week 🌞
Hi Lael,
I’ve not noticed weight loss due to flying but then have never weighed myself when away so I don’t know. I do notice the opposite to you though re bowels. When driving or flying long distances I am out of my early morning ‘routine’ for a day or two.
I agree the breakfast buffet would be fine on nfd’s, plenty to choose from at those big resort hotels, however I have been doing 16:8 (lunch & dinner only) almost every day and was going to try to continue that. Will see how I feel when we get there although wonder if Im better to go with a firm plan and plan to stick to it.
Lael, I spent 6 months sailing round Hawaii when I was 21 and loved Maui and have had several Hawaii visits since. We were married there 3.5 years ago 💜 We have 5 days on Maui and 5 days in Waikiki this time, very excited, I love Hawaii, one of my favourite places to visit, along with Italy… now that will be a dietary test if ever there was one! I best be at goal weight and well in control before I set foot in Italy again! Eating pasta, minestrone soup, (and tuna sandwiches for breakfast!) every day was heaven….. Surprisingly I came home after 3 weeks having lost 2kg due to the amount of walking we did.
A small sausage & salad and a few strawberries for lunch today and one egg omelette & salad for dinner.
Best be off, I’m happy to say I have several skirts to alter before I go away! Actually just hemming them up as they’re all sitting on my hips now instead of above my waist 😊 I can’t see the difference looking in the mirror (naked) yet but my clothes are telling a different story. I did do all the measurements at the start but haven’t done them since. Happy to let the clothes and scale be the guide for now.
I think I’ve just figured out how to avoid the post-work/pre-dinner munchies. If I clean my teeth just before leaving work, I won’t be tempted to eat as soon as I get home as I don’t like eating when I’ve got that toothpaste taste in my mouth. I thought of it because I cleaned my teeth after lunch today and haven’t touched a thing (except water & mineral water) since then and it’s 6.50pm now.
Will let you know if it works on a work day.
Beth, I’m sure you’ll work out something that suits you well. Whatever you decide, you only have to do it 3 times over a ten day holiday. For me, it would depend in part on whether those buffet breakfasts were included in the hotel cost!
When we came back from Africa in July, our flight was delayed 12 hours and the airline put us up in a really nice hotel with welcome drinks and snacks on arrival but also meal vouchers for dinner and breakfast. Both were buffets! After 2 years of 5:2, I discovered that buffet style dining had really lost its gloss and, to be honest, I found the whole concept – well, how some patrons were treating it anyway – a bit repulsive. I circled the offerings several times and then sat back down while deciding what I would have from the dinner buffet. Then a few hours later, it was game on again for some of those guests and watching their behaviour while I drank a coffee made me feel a sort of smugness that enabled me to make reasonable choices from the breakfast fare.
One other thing is that, before we left on that trip, I did my first and only 24 hour fast which I thought would set me up for the first week of holidays (I wouldn’t tackle 5:2, I just aim for 6:1 on holiday). So, the night before we left, I ate a normal dinner and I think I had a small protein snack before bed. The whole of the next day, I drank only water except my two morning coffees because I’m addicted. That second night, we left home at 9pm for a midnight flight. I figured we’d be eating peanuts by 1am with a meal close behind which would have been a 28hr fast (not counting the coffee). But, at 2.30am, we were still sitting on the tarmac with a technical fault. Let me tell you, that was the best airline meal I’ve ever had when it finally arrived! And that 24 hr fast really wasn’t hard at all. And yes, Lael, I was well down on the scales on arrival which was a great feeling. Then, as soon as we got home, I pulled my usual FD fare out of the freezer and got straight back into fasting the next day.
I went to Hawaii a few times when I lived in California. My favourite island is Kauai. I did a lot of hiking there, the Na Pali coast is beautiful. Right now, OH is playing with an app that tells him that some friends of ours who live on Molokai are visiting some other friends of ours who live on Molokai!
Lael, do you carry travel scales when you leave home? Thanks for the tip about Grill’d. I have had that bun that you speak of there and had forgotten about it. No Grill’d where we went and I suppose, given a choice in the city, I wouldn’t pick it but my DD loves going there so I’ll keep it in mind for more impulsive times. I just wonder what happened to really good, colourful & imaginative salads. Even an authentic Caesar salad is hard to come by.
As for the trigger weight, I’m striving to stay between 59-61kgs. So 61kg means immediate action is required. I should lower it to 60kgs because when I’m near my trigger weight, I say I’m in the high 60s range but of course that doesn’t mean 69kgs but 60.9kgs – so it’s not clear even to me how to say it. If 60kg were the trigger weight, I could simply say I need to keep under 60kgs. Yes, I think 500gms would be a narrow range to keep within, given undigested food, extra fluids consumed, recalcitrant scales and so on.
Thanks for enlightening me on the purpose of stealing number plates. You’re right, it would have to be for committing just one further crime such as fitting them on the getaway car for robbing a bank or stealing petrol.
I hope I haven’t forgotten anything, I seem to have been rambling for ages. Brain fog has set in. And, yay, less than an hour until dinner which is leftover something I had for Wednesday’s fast.
I hope everyone’s had a great day – especially you ‘eloelo. Did you lick the bowl?
How cool is that, living in Hawai! I really want to take my kids there but plane tickets are expensive at Xmas time 😯. Mayve next year!
Oh boy, is this fasting day getting long. I still have 250 cal left for dinner, so I’m a bit proud of myself on this first FD. Let’s hope I’m not jinxing it by being too proud too soon!
So glad so many of you recommended the book.
It helped me go through mid-day hunger. And indeed hunger does go away. The hardest part for me is to stop eating when I start. I wonder if I should just drink tea (a lot) and diet coke (a little) on FD? Is anyone avoiding food altogether as it is so hard to eat just a little then stop?
I had spinach, 50g smoked trout and a poached egg for lunch, inspired by the book ☺ Was delicious but I missed having bread with it (or double amount) and for the next hr or so I was snooping in the kitchen opening cabinet doors and obsessing about food…
Oh well. I survived a b-day party, baking orange chia seeds cupcakes and gluten free cookies, and I had to fight with my family so that some cookies make it to the fundraiser!!! I licked my finger by habit when I spilled some orange dough on the pan and felt how easily I could tip over and ruin my FD… Let’s hope I get better at it like the book makes me hopeful I will.
Or maybe I follow your trick Beth and just go brush my teeth!
Regarding my fitness pal: awesome suggestion, that’s how I figured out I ate 250 cal until now ☺. But do they have a 5:2 setting I did not find? Or does the tracker consider we’re anorexic when entering FD? I’ve not used this app in a loooong time but remember it didn’t like less than 1200 cal logged in a day or so.
Wish me luck for dinner, I’m looking fwd to weighting myself tomorrow (and eating breakfast!!). Eyes on the prize!
Our posts collided ‘eloelo. How well you’ve done today! Congratulations. When I started 5:2, I had three teeny ‘meals’ each FD primarily for my OH who’d generously agreed to do it with me for one month to help me get started. He lost too much weight and went to 6:1 after one month but he continued doing that for 11 months which was a great help.
Now I’m doing it alone, I have the aforementioned coffee with A&C milk (20 cals) and then I don’t eat until 2pm when I have cauliflower soup (103 cals for two cups). Have we mentioned our recipe page since you joined us? Here it is: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/southern-hemispherites-fd-recipes/. I don’t eat again until 5pm. If this meal doesn’t contain protein, I reserve some cals for a boiled egg or cottage cheese before bed as I don’t like going to bed hungry. Try to plan ahead rather than eating and checking what you’re ‘up to’ calorie wise. That way, there’s no raiding the cupboards – you know what’s coming.
Beth, maybe that toothpaste trick could help all of us slow down, not just on FDs!
Hello All – I’ve been travelling on workplace experience for my studies as a student nurse, and delighted to be home again, but struggling with asthma & exhaustion. Not sure how I’ll get organised for classes tomorrow! I honestly can’t be bothered, which is not good enough as I’m working on a group project & can’t let my partner down. But once the washing is hung out I really think I’ll go to bed & read myself to sleep & try to be up early so I have at least looked at everything, even if it is not technically ‘done’.
Love the toothpaste tip, Beth62 – thanks for that. When I’m on top of my game I clean my teeth as a psychological signal to my brain that I’ve finished eating (doesn’t work quite so well in my current frame of mind, but …).
Welcome to all the new members – and congratulations for getting this far. This is already a huge step, and failure is not a concept I want to even think about. As far as I’m concerned, we are not our weight – we are far more than that! Just look at all our stories – we are each an amazing human being.
Do I want to lose more weight? Absolutely. But Life has made that difficult so I’ve been ‘hovering’ for about 3 months now, struggling with fast days & eating at night (I do the carb – usually lollies/chocolate – binge when I’m tired even though my rational brain knows I would do better to have a big drink of water and GO TO BED!)
I refuse to count calories – no, nyet, nein, nei – in whatever language you can think of.
BUT I did buy a (very noisy) blender from Aldi (impulse buy) a couple of weeks ago & am absolutely enchanted with my morning smoothie. An extremely do-able thing even on a fast day, fills me up to the tippy tippy top (usually a bit of ginger, a couple of kale leaves, 2-3 silver beet leaves, some mint, an orange or lemon with some of the skin still on, maybe a banana/carrot/kiwi fruit/apple and a cup or so of water). This gets me through to lunchtime, which is sometimes 6-7 hours later (depending on my shifts) and I feel well on it.
Also realised that TipTop Wholemeal Raisin Toast is 7.2g fibre for 2 slices (the calorie count might scare off some? but I truly don’t care). With a bit of peanut butter & banana its a very substantial breakfast on the run too (although not on FD).
Even though I’m not posting much, I am reading everyone’s contributions and appreciate all the support we are all giving each other.
Have a wonderful week you amazing people – you deserve the very best of success! And please don’t be hard on yourself – it took us a while to get into this position so of course it will take a bit to get out, and every step forward IS progress. Huge love to you all.
Hi, I haven’t fasted for a very long time due to circumstances. I felt much better within myself when I was fasting 2 days a week. However the scales have gone up and I just don’t feel well so I’m back in to it. First day today. Went really well but its 11.15pm and I have been up since 4.30am (working today) and I just can’t unwind to get to sleep. I feel really irritable. Has anyone else felt like this. I guess the one good thing is that I haven’t felt like raiding the bikkie tin. Just had a cup of camomile tea so will go back to bed shortly.
Hello Pamie! Welcome back!
I clicked on your history (in case I knew you and had forgotten!!!) and your last posts were about a year before I began 5:2.
Oh dear I know that irritated feeling! I hope you can unwind and get to sleep. I often spend that time imaging what I will eat in the morning!
With a bit of luck you will wake up in the morning feeling great.
Hey CAnnbewarra, so good to see your post! Oh dear, what an exhausting life. Hooray for your smoothies and good luck getting to your classes tomorrow! Thanks for saying such lovely things!
The toothpaste trick is a good one for me too! I have a partial dental plate and food gets caught under it, so it is extra important for me to eat, brush my teeth and then wait til the next meal before eating again.
I’m tired and headachey, but it has been a good fast day. I had my lovely cuppas through the day and worked on my business plan and then in the late afternoon my lovely cafe owner friend said he could give me an hour at 8 pm so I had my miso soup and prepared as best I could and then made the most of his generosity. I feel so much clearer now, and tomorrow I have meetings with the project worker and the chef, and I think I can really get the project steps organised so we are efficiently making decisions instead of everyone being on different pages! I hope so!
I’m going to go to bed and imagine what I will have for breakfast!
Best wishes lovely people!
Thankyou Cinque, I do feel better this morning. Just been on Myfitnesspal to work out my breakfast but I’m not actually that hungry. I’m intrigued, do you own a cafe?I work as a cook in our local hospital. we used to own a deli but sold it 3 years ago, specialised in gluten free food as I am coeliac. We are both getting older so i went to part-time and I love it.Can’t go a day without baking though so thats a problem.!!
Canbewarra, the smoothie sounds good, hadn’t thought of putting whole pieces of orange in. Thankyou everyone your stories are an inspiration. I feel very motivated today.
Morning everyone, hi Pamie!
I ended up eating a bit over 500cal yesterday- 564 according to MFP. It’s still very low for me who’ve never done tgat before!
I’m nicely surprised to not wake up starving. I lost a ton of weight in this first FD. Down from 76 to 73.6. I know it’s water etc but I don’t really care.
I’m super excited and motivated to not go too crazy until my next FD.
Do you usually weight once a week? I’m a 20 times a day kind of scale-user and I’m a bit afraid to see the weight back on tomorrow.
Do you all see stable weight down or up and down depending if it’s a FD and NFD?
I’m going to try to weight until my next FD, which is either Wednesday or Thursday I haven’t decided yet…
Good luck CAnnbewarra for the classes this week, and a good day to all!!! I’m super grateful I have found this website and you. Xx
Hi everyone, I haven’t fasted for quite a number of years and thought I would give it another go. The numbers on the scales have slowly been creeping up!
Just wondering if you all prefer back to back fast days or do you spread them out?
I love all the positive comments and the support you offer each other.
Thanks
Good morning everyone and congratulations Pamie, Eloelochat and welcome Jenmac!
Jenmac, I like to keep my fast days as far away from each other as I can! It makes it easy for me, and keeping 5:2 do-able is my best trick.
Eloelochat, my first fast days were over 500 too. Around 650 I think! I thought I could cut out milk in my cuppas, but I couldn’t! They still worked though, and gradually I was able to sort out what suited me (cuppas, with milk if needed, and a bowl of miso soup with chicken, mushrooms and greens in the evening)
Pamie I bet you have fun baking gluten free! The deli sounds wonderful! Turnabout is also a foodie, she has been running a B&B for 20 years!
I have a community food project called YamDaisy and we are setting up a cafe in the local community health centre, so I can’t help talking about it a bit!
Back to people losing weight and getting constipated on flights (I do the latter 🙁 ) I think it is dehydration!
And I realised my other trick (besides dreaming about breakfast) when I need to unwind at the end of a fast day…. is to try on clothes! My wardrobe is full of gorgeous summer clothes I have never worn (I am a serious op shopper) apart from trying them on at the end of fast days!
Good morning Thin when you wake up!
Hello everyone!
And a very good morning to you Cinque and everyone else! I thought of you the other day as the little towns we visited in the country all had good op shops. We bought a set of very good ‘spirit’ glasses for 50c and they came up sparkling with the dishwasher.
Welcome to the new recruits and those re-joining us. If you feel comfortable sharing your reasons, I would be very interested to learn about what caused you to stop practicing 5:2. I often wonder whether people got posting fatique yet carried on fasting happily ever after or whether they decided fasting wasn’t for them. I would find it really helpful to learn what makes someone stop fasting after they’ve been doing it for a while. I intend staying with this WOL for the rest of my days – what might change that, I wonder?
‘eloelo, my weight goes up in between FDs and usually down the day after a FD. Not today however, I stayed the same as yesterday which is sometimes annoying. I’m an obsessive weigher, morning and night, sometimes after my walk too. I use the results to guide my eating that day. Isn’t it great to wake up after a FD and not feel particularly hungry? And those cookies will be all the yummier, should you decide to have one today.
Hi all,
I’m in Queensland. I’m thinking of doing 5:2 diet. I need to lose around 20kgs.
I bought a book on vegetarian 5:2 Diet and I reckon I’ll go vegetarian on the fast days.
It’s Monday but I didn’t wake up with the right frame of mind to begin today, I want to do Monday and Thursday fasts as I’ve read that is the best way to go.
Anybody got any advice for me before I begin on Thursday? I especially need advice about what to buy to have on hand to eat and drink on fast days. I only go shopping weekly because it’s the big day out when I do.
Thanks.
Welcome Arawajo. My advice is this: First buy Michael Mosley and Mimi Spencer’s ‘The Fast Diet’ book. You can read it in a couple of days. In the meantime, weigh yourself and measure & record everything (thighs, neck, etc). Take a full length photo of yourself now.
Plan your FD meals well in advance. In my opinion, it is less likely to work if you record calories as you eat them only to find the calorie bank is empty and you’re still hungry. Planning was the key to my success (by the way, I lost 24 kgs and have kept it off for 14 months). Other advice about which days to fast and how to plan your intake during the FDs will depend on whether you work, whether you are the food preparer for a family or if you live alone, whether other family members are doing 5:2 with you, etc. If you can put off eating for as long as possible on a FD, this gives you a larger fasting window, allows for a more substantial ‘meal’ later and keeps you from wanting to snack all day due to the awakening of the hunger dragon.
As for what to eat, you need to make every calorie count. So, try not to drink your calories on FDs. Many of us have a small portion of protein and a lot of plants, soups, herbal teas. Yesterday, I re-posted the link to our recipe page. There you can find some low calorie meal ideas. Try not to snack because this is a way of life not a diet and we need to learn how to eat healthily for life. Others will have different tips and advice as we’re all different. Good luck!
P.S. Benefits of compulsive weighing: after my earlier post, I drank a lovely frothy coffee, went to the loo and weighed again to discover I’d lost 500gms from yesterday. So there you go, keep weighing until you get the weight you like and record that!
Hi jenmac, all the best for today. Are you still in Sydney? I’ve never tried B2B fasting so I’ll let others respond to your earlier question. What’s for dinner? I think you’re doing the right thing – I find it better to feel hungry knowing there’s something still to come later in the day rather than picking all day with the possibility of running the calorie bank dry. You’ll discover what works best for you and it’s all so flexible.
My goodness this site has exploded with newbies. I feel very daunted by all the posts. A very warm welcome to all of you. I’m sure you will have all your concerns answered by one of our knowledgeable team. I’m not an indepth poster but all I can say to encourage all of you is to stay the distance no matter how hard it seems in the beginning or how long it takes to find your rhythym. It will happen, its all about how bad you want to lose the weight and if you are prepared to make this a way of life.
I am now into my 88th week. Started at 87.1 and this morning after an FD yesterday 67.3. I usually do Tuesday/Thursday but lately if I am home on a Sunday I will do an extra day as I am trying to get to 65 by the end of the month. It has not been easy and many times I have felt like giving up but to see the transformation in the mirror and buying size 10/12 clothes makes up for the down times.
Eloelo, I too have a parent with dementia, my mum. She is now in care and I am a carer for my 89yr old Dad. Its very hard on family members. One of our other posters Merry is in the same situation.
I now have my new number plates fitted with tamper proof screws. I am going to change the screws on Dad’s car as well. Just finished updating the green slip/insurance/road assist/e-tag, all the things you have to do just for someone elses actions.
Thin you could be right about the posting fatigue, when I saw all those posts my first thought was it’s getting too busy on here and there is know way I can keep up but I would continue with 5:2.
Look forward to reading everyones progress.
Tee, hee! I thought the replay of Eat, Fast and Live Longer episode on SBS last week might bring some old and new fasters out to join our Hemispherites member numbers! Welcome to those who have been here previously and newbies! Like Thin, I am also curious to know why some of you may have decided to discontinue fasting. …That’s if you’d like to share that story. I know it would also help me to know underlying factors that I may encounter myself at some point, factors that ultimately compel me to give intermittent fasting a miss for awhile.
Hey, that’s great that you got some of those tamper proof screws Intesha!
jenmac, I’ve recently pulled myself up out of adrenal fatigue/insufficiency and I feel back to back fasting would put too much of a strain on my adrenal glands. Also, I feel I get a lot of ‘mileage’ out of fasting on non-consecutive days since each fast I do is 36 hr + which equals 72 fasting hours minimum per week and I think if I did B2B I’d probably only be fasting for 48 hours per week.
Understand that the long term posters might be feeling a bit overwhelmed so I’m happy take a break and will just check in once in a while.
I think in the end, this needs to be something I can do by myself and make a way of life. I’m very appreciative of all your advice and personal experiences.
Best to everyone and good luck to all the newbies as you start on this journey, it really does work!
Beth 😊
P.S. Thin, I don’t have travel scales, though they do interest me! Often when I’ve gone long haul traveling I end up at relatives’ homes and they have scales, so have been able to weigh! …That 2 kilogram maintenance range sounds very doable. I just re-read Dr. M’s. article that I posted a few pages back to find that Dr. M. never lets his weight creep up over 78 kg. He says that he stands on the scales regularly too!
I just have to copy and paste this bit of the interview since I could relate…
“I’m an absolute sugarholic,” admits Mosley over coffee. “I’ve just had that cappuccino … and I suppose that has two to three teaspoons of sugar in there.”
Mosley, who is wary of food evangelism, keeps himself on a fairly tight leash, but concedes “there are moments of weakness”.
“I’m rarely absolutist, so I think in the end you have to be human,” he adds.
He says human fallibility is his rationale behind keeping chocolate out of the house. Or, if any chocolate is in the house, his wife has to hide it or literally lock it away.
“It’s that bad,” says Mosley, who ate dessert at a restaurant the night before our chat. “I find myself roaming around at 11 at night looking for it.
“I find the only way to stop myself is to put it in the bin and put dog poo on it or something like that. It is insane.
“The things you know and the things you do are completely different and that’s why you have to create an environment where you can avoid it.”
A frustrating day
Planned on fasting today but workers so ridiculously busy I caved and ate lunch – healthy lunch of tuna and beans and a pear
I’ll finish the day on about 1,000 calories which is pretty good anyway
Tomorrows a new day. Thanks for all the great encouragement of today’s posts everyone – much appreciated. I had a little giggle about all the tips on weighing!!! I must say I limit myself to once a day first thing in the morning!!!
Hi Stephy, me too, one weigh in every morning and OMG this morning was quite a revelation!!! After almost 10 days of work, entertaining and being generally very busy I really expected the scales to be up or the same today but no, down to 73.4kgs. Brill smashed it!! Completely missed the 74’s, feeling great especially after starting a FD yesterday and caving in because I was just so tired! All set now for another FD on Thursday, with you Michaela?
Hope everyone has had a good day, fasting or not!!!
Turn
Beth, I’m sure you don’t want to be posting from your romantic holiday in Maui but please don’t stop posting when you return! I would miss you. It might not be possible to personalise every response as we can when there’s a skeleton crew but I still want to hear from you.
I have just returned from having coffee with a friend who I’d shared the details of 5:2 with about a year ago and she told me she finally started 4 weeks ago and has dropped her first kg. She said she just wasn’t in the right mindset before. She’s the 14th person I’ve introduced to 5:2 and so far only two said it wasn’t for them (with pathetic reasons offered IMHO!). Personally, I don’t know why everyone’s not doing it! Three cheers for 5:2!
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11:16 pm
7 Oct 16