Hello Southern Hemispherites!!

This topic contains 27,907 replies, has 831 voices, and was last updated by thinatlast 1 day ago.

Viewing 50 posts - 10,101 through 10,150 (of 28,011 total)

← 1 … 202 203 204 … 561 →

LJoyce

5:57 am
10 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi Lael – thanks for the encouragement. I am sure that most of the weight loss was fluid. In addition to the normal fluid retention that comes with weight gain, I have rheumatoid arthritis and polymyalgia, (both inflammatory conditions triggered by a faulty immune system). If my weight goes up by even a few kilos it can trigger an inflammatory response with all of my joints swelling with fluid and also some of my body tissues will do the same. The moment I get my diet back onto a healthier footing, the inflammation subsides and my body releases all that extra fluid. I have learned not to mistake it for a loss of body fat. But it is still a welcome change as the extra inflammation does increase pain and stiffness.

I find I need to be on a diet for 1-2 weeks before I know just what my ongoing body fat weight loss is likely to be.

I did my first FD for the week on Sunday and and doing the second one today (I’m aiming for 3 this week to see if I can manage it). I am finding it tougher today, not sure if it’s the fact that I only had a 1 day break between FDs.

Minka

6:41 am
10 Jan 17
Permalink

Hey Thin, I just looked up a dugite, yikes! You remained calmer than I would! Maybe it’s good you didn’t know it was venomous and lethal! …And there on an island had it bitten!

Minka

6:46 am
10 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi LJ, I didn’t see your post when I just posted mine above! …That’s interesting about the inflammation and the water retention being related. RA can be so painful, so I’ll be interested if IF has beneficial effects in the long run. I too have a faulty immune system, one that has attacked my thyroid. I too have seen how the food I consume affects this.

Cinque

6:55 am
10 Jan 17
Permalink

Cheers LJoyce, hope you can get through the harder day. You will have a nice easy few days following!

Thin, wow! I think you need to take the snake as a powerful omen! You are turning into a goddess! http://previews.123rf.com/images/kristina0702/kristina07021305/kristina0702130500002/19602745-Egyptian-God-with-snake-on-boat-Stock-Vector-egyptian-africa-goddess.jpg

Yes, I think I am on Wednesdays and Sundays. I take my granddaughter on Thursday nights at the moment, and I prefer that isn’t a fast day.

I had let the sugar consumption sneak up so slowly I hadn’t realised how crook it was making me. I am not sure that anyone else has the same reaction, but it feels like I have stopped eating poison, so that makes it a very easy decision!

The salad in the jars DO contain things that can wilt. They are so clever! The dressing is right at the bottom with things like cucumber and carrot and radish, that can cope with sitting in it, and some pulses, grains, or roast veggies etc are in the middle and they form a barrier. The leafy things are at the top, and sit in the protected environment that keeps them beautifully fresh. Here is the article that explains it well: http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-pack-the-perfect-salad-in-a-jar-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-192174

I made 6 one week but, while they lasted a week, I was getting wary by the end and a little bit sick of them. Four is perfect. I have one a day, or if I miss a day that it is still lovely.

The ones I am making today are going to have cucumber, carrot and radish at the bottom in the tangy dressing, then sweet and sour zucchini and red peppers, then black-eyed beans with herbs, and then lots of lettuce and walnuts on top. It makes them a whole meal.

I’d better go and make them!

Cinque

7:02 am
10 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi Lovely Lael, I’ll be interested if being stricter about sweet things makes a difference for you. Even with all the research and Fungs and Fettkes I still haven’t heard of anyone feeling so crook from sugar as I do. If I had some of that cheesecake and, say, a piece of baklava, I’d have such a poisonous hangover I’d hardly be able to move.

I’m off to make those colourful layers you envisioned!

chatelaine

5:29 pm
10 Jan 17
Permalink

Hello Everyone
Please excuse my absence from the forum, but we’ve had “technical issues” (phone line/ISP/modem?), so haven’t been logging on.
I can see that I’ve missed lots of posts, but no time to read right now (in the wee hours).
This Thursday will be my 16th FD.
Over the first 4 weeks, I lost 2.5kg (68kg). After week 5, I’d lost 4.0kg, so was really happy with that (66.50kg).
However, am only down another half kg in the past almost three weeks. Actually dipped to 65kg at one point, but now back to 66kg.
So, have now lost 4.5kg in total.
I guess I wrongly assumed that adhering to this plan I would see a slow, but steady downwards trajectory.
Has anyone else experienced a plateau, such as this?
Tomorrow will read through all the posts I’ve missed and be sure to contribute.
As a PS, for those of you interested in films (and recall seeing a few posts re this), I saw a preview today of “Jackie”. I was interested in the subject, but had doubts about the film after seeing another film of this director’s last week. However, it exceeded expectations – thought it was terrific. Natalie Portman was especially good as Jackie Kennedy.
Best wishes
Chat

Cinque

9:36 pm
10 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi Chat, so glad your internet is working again!
But how frustrating that you aren’t losing weight nice and steadily. I am no help because I just didn’t bother with scales, but I know plateaus are a big thing for lots of people. Writing ‘plateau’ in the search box brings up a huge number of posts.
(On the other hand, the average loss is about half a kilo a week so 4.5kg over 8 weeks is better than average!)
Sending you big good wishes and hoping that next week sees a big loss, to compensate for this weeks frustration!

It is fast day for me! Hoping to go out for a coffee with my neighbour, do some yoga and tidy my desk (it NEARLY got tidy, but then I managed to mess it up again). Oh, and do some gardening too.

Best wishes everyone. I hope it is a good day!

I made the salad jars except I forgot the cucumber (which is meant to sit at the bottom in the dressing) until I was right at the top, so I spooned things out and put them back, which messed up the layers a bit, but nevermind. Lesson learnt!

bayleafoz

10:03 pm
10 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi Chat

You are a fast loser and I found that with fast losing I went in steps and stairs. It used to appear to me that my body was rearranging its shape between the steps. I preferred not to think of them as plateaus, but they were. I just thought that overall I am losing weight every three weeks and was very happy with that. The amount you have lost appears to equal 1 kg a week, over twice what the average person loses.

Cheers, Bay

thinatlast

12:05 am
11 Jan 17
Permalink

Morning Bay, always lovely to see you on this thread. I read it that Chat’s completed week 8 and has lost a total of 4.5kg so it’s a little faster than average weight loss. Chat, you’re an impatient one! I had a couple of plateaus but the first wasn’t until after about 4 months and it was over Christmas which I expected. Would it help if you try to remind yourself of all the health benefits of fasting and view the weight loss as a very rewarding side effect? If you’re doing this for life, it honestly doesn’t matter how long it takes – all you need is a downward trend. From memory, you had 9.5kg to lose and those last few kgs will often be the toughest. Thanks for the movie recommendation.

thinatlast

1:59 am
11 Jan 17
Permalink

Thanks for working out the cauliflower sushi calories Lael. You’re a star. I’m assuming that’s smoked salmon. I did know that the snakes on Rotto were venomous but I was sitting and it was passing within a foot of me so I thought that freezing might be a better option than struggling to get up which is never a graceful, speedy movement with my dodgy knees. The panic came later! Cinque, you’re too funny. I laughed when I saw that picture. Sadly, I looked nothing like that.

Your experience with the cucumber layering made me laugh Cinque – it’s the sort of thing I would do, especially on a FD. Thank you for the link on how to assemble the ingredients. Clever indeed. Do you have a favourite dressing? I suppose your reaction to sugar is a sort of blessing in disguise wrt your long-term health.

I’m so happy to be fasting with you today. I’m ignoring OH’s off-putting comment this morning that I should return to 6:1 as I look too skinny across the shoulders and he can see all my bones. I explained that today’s fast is nothing more than a re-set and means that I won’t be eating leftover cheesecake. He doesn’t understand why it’s not possible for me to eat normally today and just not have the cheesecake. I can’t explain it either really other than perhaps I’ve replaced my food addiction with a fast addiction.

All this makes my fastfriends even more valuable to me because you all get it. Thanks so much for being here. Cinque, I’m smiling that we have the same FDs and just slightly envious that you don’t have to consider anyone else’s nutritional requirements.

chatelaine

3:12 am
11 Jan 17
Permalink

Hello to Thin.
Firstly, I’m really sorry that I’ve only now seen your post of 01 January, where you said:
“And no, I didn’t realise that you were also from WA or you’d have received an even bigger welcome. I have met three people from this forum for coffee so let me know if you ever feel like doing that (assuming you’re in the city).”
Yes, I’d really love to meet you sometime. That would be great!
Is there a facility on here to PM someone? Can’t find this.
Thanks very much for your offer.
Cheers
Chat

chatelaine

3:26 am
11 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi Cinque

Yes, certainly is good that our internet is working again. Heard from a friend this morning who has also been having problems with phone and internet.

It is frustrating that I’m not losing weight at a steady pace. As Thin commented, I am impatient. When I told a girlfriend about 5:2 (wasn’t going to mention it, because she likes to assume guru role), she asked about expected loss rate. I told her it was around 500g per week. She pulled a face, and said, “What? So slow? You need to do detox…” She then proceeded to tell me about the 14-day detox kit she was about to buy, said she would lose 4-5 kg in 14 days. She offered to pick one up for me, too, but I declined.

I think the real frustration for me is that my measurements have not changed one iota since I started on 21 November. I can see the change in my partner who’s lost 4kg (from 86 to 82 kg). He’s so pleased that he’s amended his goal weight from 81 to 78kg. He hasn’t been that weight since his early twenties, he tells me.

Thanks for your good wishes. The same to you, too.
Chat

simcoeluv

3:36 am
11 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi chate:

Your weight loss will not occur at a standard, consistent pace. This illustrates a typical weight loss ‘pace’ with 5:2: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/really-no-weight-loss/

Good Luck!

bigbooty

5:00 am
11 Jan 17
Permalink

@chat Magical detox weigh loss diets make me laugh. 5kg in 14 days??? Really? Please make sure you catch up with your friend in 2 weeks time. Fat contains 9.3 cal/gram. Im going to assume your TDEE is rather high at 2500 cal per day. So 2500 divide 9.3 = 268 grams. So if you eat NOTHING for the 14 days your expected weight loss will be 3.8 kg (of fat) plus some associated water loss.

Having said that, if you have lost nothing since November and you continue to do the same thing what makes you think the results will be any different in the future? Albert Einstein once said that the first sign of madness is when you do the same thing over and over expecting the results to somehow be different.

While 5:2 does not preclude anything with regards to food, some foods will make it very hard for some people to succeed. Do you honestly believe that if you were to eat 2000 cal of sugar per day that the results would be the same as eating 2000 cal of broccoli? OK you up for a challenge? Try 2 weeks of the following. No sugar at all!! No processed grain based carbs. This means no bread, pasta, pizza, biscuits, cakes, breakfast cereals. No GRAIN based anything. No fruit juice, its NOT healthy for you. No potatoes. No high sugar content yogurts. Some fruit but not a lot. Go for berry types fruits. Give it a go for two weeks. See what happens.

chatelaine

5:04 am
11 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi Bay

Thanks for the encouragement. Seems I’m following the same pattern as you did – steps and stairs. However, in my case, I don’t see any change in my body shape. I know measurements can be inaccurate, but I really thought I’d notice an overall difference when looking in the mirror or when putting on clothes.

The amount I’m losing is actually around 0.5 kg per week.

I just have to “keep my eye on the prize” – and know that there will definitely be a noticeable difference when I’m down to 58kg (my current ultimate goal), and even at 60.5kg (a loss of 10kg).

BTW, how long did it take you to reach your goal, and how many kg did you drop? (Assuming this question is ok to ask, of course.)

Cheers
Chat

thinatlast

5:05 am
11 Jan 17
Permalink

Chat, great! There’s no pm facility here. You can click on the link at the bottom of this page entitled, ‘Technical questions…..’ and it will take you to the site manager JJ’s email address. Mention your name/handle and ask her to forward your email address to me, thinatlast. It sometimes takes a couple of days. In the next couple of weeks I’ll be meeting Veggie Down Under (VDU) for coffee and you’ll be very welcome to join us. Or we can organise something else if that doesn’t suit you.

Long-term, I’m betting you’re going to fare better than your de-tox friend.

chatelaine

5:15 am
11 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi Thin

Thanks very much for getting back to me so quickly and for providing the contact “how to” info. Will do as you suggest so you have my email address.

I’ve no doubt that I will fare better than my detox friend. Wasn’t tempted in the least. My partner thoroughly researched detox plans some time ago (thinking it could be an option for actual detox and weight loss). He reached the conclusion that they were useless for all the purposes they tout as benefits.

In contrast, the science is in on the 5:2 and fasting in general, and proves the benefits re these.

Looking very forward to meeting up.

Cheers
Chat

thinatlast

5:27 am
11 Jan 17
Permalink

Bigbooty, I don’t necessarily disagree with what you’ve said but I’m wondering what any of this has to do with 5:2. And how is it different from just ‘any other diet’ that we’ve all been on? You post the same thing on so many different threads and it’s starting to feel like spam. Chat didn’t say that she hadn’t lost any weight since November. She is lamenting that she has lost 4.5kg as she approaches the end of week 8. Most of us think she’s done very well.

Maybe there are some other aspects that she might need to tweak but I think it’s important to remember why people are attracted to 5:2. I believe it’s because they don’t have to give up the foods they love and they don’t have to ever feel deprived. This is the message that Dr M. gives – it works because it’s sustainable.

Also, many of us have found that after some months on 5:2, we have been naturally ‘shaped’ into discarding certain foods, alcohol even and that we have reduced our portions considerably without even making a conscious effort to do so.

I think when you come on so strong that it might tend to discourage people from continuing. It’s great that you have found the perfect answer for you but this doesn’t mean that it’s the solution for all. Sugar is addictive. It’s not a sign of weakness in people if they can’t go cold turkey. And it occurs in so much of what we eat. For me, the prospect of cutting out all sugar is totally daunting. I’ve been on 5:2 since August 2014, have maintained my 23kg loss for 18 months and I’m still struggling with giving up grains. There are other items that I simply don’t want to give up (like roast potatoes at Christmas!). Am I a total failure?

80% of people will not be able to keep off their weight lost after one year. That’s typically because they return to the foods they’d been deprived of during their ‘diet’. The whole point of 5:2 is that you can have your cake and eat it too. It’s sustainable.

Now, you might want to add your own personal changes to that. Presumably we’d all like a healthier diet. But most of us mortals struggle with the perfect diet – whatever that might be – and some of us, like me, have decades of bad habits to overcome.

So please, be gentle! Your message reads as though Chat is some of mad failure. I don’t believe that of her at all. Everyone is different and everyone is doing this the best way they can. This is what makes 5:2 so fantastic – its flexibility.

I think that it is very generous of Dr Mosley to host and sponsor this site which allows so many diverse opinions – Fung, et al. And I welcome all that discussion. But please keep the original message in mind. And why it is attractive so many people all over the world.

thinatlast

5:35 am
11 Jan 17
Permalink

some *kind* of mad failure
*to* so many people, sorry not enough time to edit.

bigbooty

5:46 am
11 Jan 17
Permalink

Sorry thin, misread the post. I though chat hadn’t lost any weight and that was the problem she wanted addressing. Im not selling anything as such. People are free to try any version of 5:2. Im pointing to one that worked for me. My enthusiasm for others to be successful tends to get the better of me. Yes I know I come across too strong at times. Are you a failure? No never said that. I do however tend to read a lot of posts that say 5:2 is not working for me. All Im offering is an alternate 5:2. Try it, if it works great if not nothing lost and go back to what you were eating.

Sorry chat. Good luck.

thinatlast

6:14 am
11 Jan 17
Permalink

Fair enough Bigbooty. I invite you to stick around on this thread, establish a bit of a rapport with its contributors, maybe complete a bit of a profile and tell us a bit about yourself and how you arrived at IF as a WOL. I’m sure if people knew something of the person behind the message, it would become more meaningful. Many posters have/had a lot of issues wrt food, that’s why we all became overweight in the first place. I’m definitely one of those people. A work in progress.

Cinque

7:10 am
11 Jan 17
Permalink

Hello everyone,
Nearly miso soup time! Had a lovely surprise day Op Shopping with my sister (three new tops, two pairs of earrings and a few things for the grandbabies). Then I had to rest so nothing else got done!

Thanks Thin and BigBooty for responding and clarifying so well.

Chat, aren’t we all in a rush for quick fixes. So glad you are sensible about it. I blame your partner! The cheek of him losing all that weight! I bet his clothes are swimming on him too! SO not fair!

(Mind you, I’d been putting on weight when I started 5:2 so simply staying the same weight would have been worth the hassle of fast days!)

Thin, I hope you are having a good cheesecake free day! Have you cauliflower soup for the evening meal?

Oh and I meant to say that the sweet and sour zucchini worked well. I counted the zucchini itself, and the gently fried red onion with a little bit of diced red pepper, as plenty of sweetness! then lemon and vinegar for the sour. Cooked until the sours things became a glaze. I pick my zucchinis small so they are nicely dense and full of flavour. Ooh I am looking forward to my salad in a jar tomorrow!

As for the dressings, I try to vary them. The zucchinis were a Lebanese recipe so I kept to Middle Eastern flavours for the dressing: lemon, olive oil, cumin, salt and a bit of chilli.

thinatlast

7:31 am
11 Jan 17
Permalink

Cinque, I had the standard 2pm cauliflower soup. My FD meal will be the other portion of the Spanish Fideos from Sunday. I am so boring. I hope it’s never determined that cauliflower is contraindicated for us – I’ll be sunk! That’ll put me at 265 cals including the protein from the egg. Maybe one spoonful of cottage cheese before bed – although I just read your comments about ricotta on the MC thread so I might branch out.

What a lovely day you’ve had op shopping. It’s too hot for much here but I did a little garden pottering.

Is it because we use our tongues primarily for tasting and talking that we have so many food metaphors? I realised I’d earlier used, ‘cold turkey’ and ‘piece of cake’. Going bananas, just peachy, chewing the fat, cherry picking, cool as a cucumber, in a pickle, hard nut to crack, peas in a pod, with a grain of salt, walking on eggshells, sugar coat ………

thinatlast

7:35 am
11 Jan 17
Permalink

….egg on his face, full of beans, crying over spilled milk, meat head, talkin’ turkey, a bad apple …….

Cinque

8:41 am
11 Jan 17
Permalink

You are a good egg, Thin! 😉

Food is so important to us! It deserves a central place in our speech! 🙂

Ok, it is properly in my head that cauliflower soup is your afternoon something!
That is good because I’m trialling a 2 o’clock something on my fast days, so it is lovely that it your practice too. But I think I will do it the other way around, and keep my soup for the evening.

I love the ritual and habit of my fast days!

Minka

9:27 am
11 Jan 17
Permalink

Thank you Thin for putting into words exactly what I’d been thinking as I read through the thread. I find there are plenty of those who are hyper-vigilant to give out advice without truly getting to know each of us as individuals, as you point out. I feel that this WOL isn’t formulaic and that we all have to experiment with what works for us and as you point out, that changes organically for the better as we continue on this path.

I also want to say that advice given by those who have struggled as I do, and found their way, touches me more than facts, figures, statistics and dictates. I really don’t care to hear others’ opinions on what they think is ‘healthy’ or not. A case in point; that the whey protein powder that I consume is ‘unhealthy’ and spikes my blood sugar! I’m not sure what whey powder others have tried, but I tested mine with a glucose meter. Fasting glucose was 4.4. One hour after the unsweetened whey powder (that is not a shake!!!!), glucose reading 4.9; hardly a blood sugar spike. If that whey protein spiked my blood sugar I would be starving an hour after consuming and I wasn’t. I continued my fast that day and happily didn’t eat until hours later. If anything that I use that powder to successfully stave off hunger and it works.

bayleafoz

9:27 am
11 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi Chat

It took me six months to lose 17 kg. I had to do some of the things that Big Booty recommends. I chose to reduce foods that had sugar in them. I chose to reduce my intake of grains. I went in steps and stairs of about 3 weeks duration. Because I was so thrilled with my changing shape, I never worried about actual weight loss. I reduced from size 16 to size 12 during the six months. Good luck!

Cheers, Bay 🌺🌺

Cinque

9:09 pm
11 Jan 17
Permalink

Good morning everyone, It is lovely ‘morning after fast day’ here.

Chat, don’t feel obliged to read through pages of posts! I mean, you might like to, but I think everyone accepts that people come in and out and miss things (or, as in my case, need to be told things three times before they remember them!).

Ooh breakfast is a treat the day after a fast day! Off to make it. Cheers everyone!

Pintinlin

10:24 pm
11 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi all, now that my knees are not carrying so much weight, I went for a walk for an hour, now totally knackered and will have to veg out for a while. I want to get to europe at the end of the year, so day one of training. Lots of walking to do on my trip. Costing it at the moment, I wonder how much I can save in food costs between now and then.
I do read everyone’s posts, I love the positivity in them, it keeps me going, plateauing at the moment, so thought I would try back to back fast this week to kick start me again.
Lynn

Merryme

10:39 pm
11 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi everyone,

Had a great morning with Joffy in a lovely spot by the water. Great to meet you Joffy! It’s really good to put faces to the names when we can. You’ve got a fantastic attitude to doing 5:2! We discovered we have something in common, which was lovely also, so quite a bit of chat about that too (and thank you for being patient and courteous with me being rather tired).

It’s rather full on in my life at the moment so I’ll be pretty quiet for a little while. fD for me today.

Onwards and downwards,
Merry

LJoyce

4:11 am
12 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi
Was interested to read the discussion by thinatlast about the carb/sugar issue. I I have been having occasional sessions with a dietitian to help me maintain my weight loss long term. At one of the session I was lamenting how volatile my weight can be, regardless of how careful I’ve been with calories. She explained something I had not realised. Out bodies are designed to store a little easily accessible energy – that much I knew, I just didn’t realise how much weight it represented. The dietitian said that our body converts some carbohydrate into a quick energy source (I think it’s called a glycogen store) – it stores 1.5kg of this in our liver and another 1.5kg on our thighs. In addition, it is stored with a matching amount of water – that’s a total of 6kg in body weight. It is not a bad thing, it is a natural process that helps our body/brain to function properly when we haven’t consumed enough calories for it to do what we are asking of it. When we commence a low carb regime the initial weight loss is not body fat is is this energy and water store.
If we stick to either a balanced diet or a low carb regime then changes to the scales should be mainly body fat changes. The problem comes when we switch between the two eating styles as it can make the scales volatile in a way which have nothing to do with body fat changes.

My dietitian’s strong recommendation was that I stick with a balanced diet and I agree. I also remember one of the Horizon? documentaries that Michael Moseley did that looked at a study on carb restriction in mice – those on carb restriction were thinner bu had shorter lives. Those on the balanced diet were plump but lived longer. I have always thought that balance and moderation were always the ideals to aspire to with my diet and I can’t see that I’ll be changing my opinion any time soon. I do however think that it’s important that I focus on healthy whole foods, so I get plenty of carbs from legumes and wholegrains and my body seems to be healthier with the extra fibre – I used to have IBS (irritable bowel syndrome) and after losing weight and adopting the higher fibre regime I no longer have any symptoms.

However, I do know people who have diabetes or have clear signs of insulin resistance and they tell me they are definitely healthier and have better blood sugar if they carefully watch the type of carbs they eat. I guess this tells us that dieting doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all answer, it’s a matter of finding what works for each of us.

Cinque

6:52 am
12 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi Pin, hope your plateau ends soon. I am so glad for your precious knees that they have less of a weight to carry around! I bet you loved the walk. Hope you have now had a lovely veg out!
I was the same today. I did some gardening and then rest rest rest.
Then I got my sewing machine to work (hooray! and made a new heat bag.
Now I have little miss 2yo with me. So this is a very interrupted post!

Merry, take care! Have a good rest! But lovely to hear of your meeting with Joffy!

LJoyce, I thought it was the thin mice that lived longer!

That was interesting what your dietician said. The ‘balanced diet’ being the pyramid? I expect that is pretty much my diet. I’m like you: lots of whole foods, veggies, legumes and wholegrains. (just very low sugar!)

What a relief that your IBS disappeared!

spiritedpagan

8:13 am
12 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi there. I’m new to this and only on my 2nd day of fasting. It’s actually a lot easier than I thought. I haven’t actually been hungry at all and have definitely managed to stick under the 500cals. It’s nice to read other stories in here and I hope to gain some tricks and tips along the way. I guess it’s all about your mindset to start with right? On the two “normal” days this week I kept a check on what I was eating mainly to make sure that I wasn’t going over 2000 calories. Does anyone else do this? I’m imagining in time that you just work it out naturally without having to be super cautious but I would think you still need to be very particular on the fasting days?
Anyway, I’m hoping that this can become a lifestyle change for me. Yes, I do need to lose weight but it’s more about feeling better for me. Now that I’ve gone past the 50 mark, it seems the right time to adjust my eating for the remainder of my time (which is going to be very long I hope *L*).
Thanks for all the good reading 🙂

Pintinlin

9:02 am
12 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi cinque, yes, veged out while watching a movie.
The post about a glycogen store on my thighs is not mentioned in any book I have read. I understood it was only stored in the liver and that it was only about 12 hours worth, and that after that our bodies went into ketosis and burnt fat, have I got that wrong. I thought that was why we fasted for 36 hours, 24 of them our bodies were burning fat.

LJoyce

9:29 am
12 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi,
Cinque – The balanced eating plan my dietitian recommended is not the old pyramid – there’s slightly different Australian guidelines that describe intake in serves and this varies with age, gender etc. The dietitian gave me brochure with the details, but there is also a government website: http://www.healthyfoodguide.com.au/
– I actually still have the Michael Moseley program on my Hard Disk drive recorder so I went back and checked. “Two studies show that eating a diet low in protein and high in carbohydrates is linked to a longer, healthier life, and may even help explain why extreme calorie restriction delays aging.” This was from the program where he went to the US and interviewed people involved in research into how diet effects health and life expectancy – this was the program that also looked at intermittent fasting and resulted in his 5:2 program.
I do definitely think that not all carbs are equal. I have the same issue with high sugar foods triggering an overeating response that many others do, but I find some low/no carb foods such as nuts and cheese do the same thing to me – I find it incredibly difficult to stop eating these 2 foods – I think it might be the salt content that’s contributing to this.

Pintinlin – I had also only heard about the liver energy store, but my dietitan definitely said liver and thighs and that it’s a total of 3kg energy plus 3kg water. Any lack of calories results in our bodies “raiding” this store and our bodies work hard to replace this asap from any carbs we eat. This might be wrong, but I don’t have any medical background so I have assumed that my dietitian is telling the truth. She does specialise in treating eating disorders (including compulsive eating), which is one of the reasons I chose her.

Spiritedpagan – I don’t think it’s a bad idea to check how much you are eating on the NFDs, when you are just starting out as it’s pretty easy to overeat and undo the good work from the FDs. I don’t accurately count calories on NFDs but I do keep a rough tally. My TDEE is quite low (between 1400-1500 calories depending on how active I’ve been), so I have to be a bit careful as it quite easy for me to eat more calories than this.

LJoyce

9:51 am
12 Jan 17
Permalink

Sorry Cinque I posted the wrong link in my previous post. It should have been: https://www.eatforhealth.gov.au/

Pintinlin

10:31 am
12 Jan 17
Permalink

I’m sorry, that just doesn’t sound right, if glycogen can be stored in the thighs, it could also be stored in any muscle tissue, I think your dietitian was being funny, and referring to her own thighs and her preponderance for putting on weight in that area. Quite funny really.

chatelaine

4:24 pm
12 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi Simcoeluv
Thanks for the link. I had read that before, and thought it an amusing tale with a valuable lesson, but good to read it again. Not so concerned now about the little plateaus.
Best wishes
Chat

chatelaine

4:44 pm
12 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi Bay

Thanks for your comments. I think that losing 17 kg in 6 months is a great effort.

I can see now that this isn’t a one-size-fits-all plan where one can expect to lose a steady 0.5kg per week whilst eating whatever one wants for the 5 non-FDs.

My partner is a really good cook, and prepares just about all of our meals. He’s always been a big carb eater, and enjoys cooking dishes with a high carb content. As a result, I’ve certainly increased my carb intake over the years.

However, since embarking on 5:2, we’ve cut down our carb intake – especially me – and feel this will help in the long run. Having said that, I would never be interested in a paleo or paleo-like diet.

I will be thrilled if, like you, I can reduce from a size 16 to size 12 over 56 months.

Thanks for the inspiration.

Cheers
Chat

chatelaine

5:12 pm
12 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi Thin

I’d read bigbooty’s response to my post, was eager to reply right away, especially seeing that my post had been misread, but was called away before I could do so.

I was most gratified to see that you had responded to BB’s post, and had addressed all issues in a far better way than I could have done. Thank you very much for doing this.

Have to say that I agree with all you’ve said regarding foods and food habits.

I don’t eat a lot high-sugar foods, never drink soft drinks (except when travelling in the tropics – can’t resist G&Ts, etc, in that context), but do enjoy a glass of wine with dinner and the occasional sweet treat.
Have cut down on the wine somewhat, but would not like to contemplate cutting it out.

Also, do have IBS, so a high-fibre diet is a must for me. Apart from which, I enjoy legumes and wholegrains, just as I note LJoyce does.

So, a balanced diet it would have to be for me.

Anyway, finished FD 16 today (was particularly hungry for some reason), so looking forward to breakfast. Hope all others on Thursday FDs had a good day today.

BTW, Thin, have you received my email address yet? I did follow your advice right away.

Cheers
Chat

Fishing Gran

8:58 pm
12 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi thin and lael that sugar is getting less i made the mistake of using a artificial sweetener for a while and didn’t realize how sweet tasting it was until i stopped yuk. and i will head to the health food store to check out the miso FD’s are starting to get easier.Chat i have the eight week blood sugar book i did the quiz do you crave carbs are you addicted it opened my eyes severe addiction I think it’s because of the old food pyramid now i try to base my meals on more non starchy foods i reach for bread when i am tired an easy fix I love legumes which is a healthier alternative.

Cinque

10:36 pm
12 Jan 17
Permalink

Good morning everyone!

LJoyce I love that link, the community food project I am managing is based on it! 🙂

Glycogen is stored in muscles as well as the liver, and as our thighs are such big muscles, they are a good example for the dietician to give.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glycogen

Oops, granddaughter wants to jump up and down in the puddles. Must go!

thinatlast

12:07 am
13 Jan 17
Permalink

Welcome spiritedpagan! I’m not a calorie counter, I find it tedious. But when I started 5:2 in 2014, I did put a lot of effort into devising little FD meal plans under 500 cals. I didn’t ever count cals on NFDs. Over time, fasting itself shaped my eating habits & I found I was eating smaller portions. I think it would be helpful to calculate your TDEE which you can do on this website so that you are sure that 500 cals is correct for your FDs.

As you’ve read, people approach this from widely different perspectives. My own experience is that 5:2 works ‘exactly as advertised’ when two FDs are strictly practiced. I also feel that mastering these two FDs is the key to its success and that’s quite enough to deal with at first. I have 14 personal friends who I’ve turned on to this. Two said it doesn’t work for them. One cannot adhere to a FD, the other cheats (doesn’t count milk in tea, etc). The other 12 have enjoyed success as have I.

If you find the weight isn’t coming off, you will of course need to take a closer look at your NFD intake. At that point, make sure you’re not exceeding your TDEE. You also need to keep re-calculating your TDEE as the cruel irony is that, as you lose weight, your TDEE becomes less. It’s a good idea to learn to eat for the weight you want to be not the weight you are now. You might then also want to start cutting down on carbs. I did this when I reached a plateau and ending up virtually cutting out rice and bread and cutting down on a lot of other carbs.

This is just my interpretation but naked 5:2 as I call it works. You can of course incorporate other options which have nothing to do with 5:2. In my view, if you count calories on NFDs or cut out food groups altogether, it makes it no different from any other ‘diet’ and the chance of failure becomes very high. The whole point of this is that it is sustainable for life and you need never feel deprived. Lots of really healthy changes come in time without your making any conscious effort. Good luck. Post often and let us know how you’re finding it.

thinatlast

1:21 am
13 Jan 17
Permalink

Chat, yes I did and I responded on Thursday morning. Did you perhaps sign up to this site using a different email address? It’s a Cornish sounding name @gmail.

FishingGran, I’ve never used sweeteners as they got a bad rap in the 70s but one of my friends who’s had great success with 5:2 swears by stevia.

Cinque, you’re the cream of the crop! 😉 Your soup is your main meal and something nourishing to look forward to at the end of the day. Mine’s just 103 cals and keeps me going until 5pm. I hope the little family is thriving and SIL’s medical problems are all sorted.

Merry and Joffy – I’m so happy that you’ve met. I imagine Joffy as a tall, gentle giant with unruly curly hair and a big hearty laugh. A can of beer in one hand and a cup of minestrone soup in the other. A pair of shorts too big in the waist held up with a belt with some home-made extra notches. So far, I’ve got it completely wrong on everyone so this probably bears no resemblance to Joffy.

Hi everyone else, enjoyed the discussion, keep it coming.

Charlotterose25

4:38 am
13 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi all, I live in Queensland , where, at the moment we are going through a heatwave.
I started my diet today, whoopee, 1st day of the rest of my life. I am really excited about trying this diet lifestyle, I think of it as a lifestyle rather that just to loose the weight that I have put on over the years. I am 67 and boy its hard to loose weight especially as I cannot exercise much due to what I call bung hips. I have always eaten healthy foods as my baby son (age 36) was an athlete so I had to cook well, I just kept it up BUT I have a sweet tooth and that is my downfall. Hope I get all the encouragement possible from these forums as I will be visiting every day. That’s the way I believe I will keep to it.
Bye for now
Charlotterose25.

Cinque

5:22 am
13 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi Charlotte Rose, Welcome here!

Best wishes to you and every one else who is sweltering.
Very glad to be in grey old Melbourne today.

I’m 59 and also can’t exercise, in my case due to chronic illness ME/CFS. 5:2 has been perfect for me, I lost about 14 kilos over about 16 months, down to size 8-10 and now maintaining. (Had to also give up sweet things though!)

Thin, you might just be the big cheese! 😉
My daughter’s family is going so well. My son in law is driving again, the seizure was definitely medication related. He still has a myriad of health issues (he has Aspergers) but he is doing well.

Granddaughter is back home and grandma is taking it easy!

thinatlast

5:25 am
13 Jan 17
Permalink

Welcome Charlotte, you’re at the right place. Exercise has many benefits but it took me decades of expensive gym memberships to come to the conclusion that exercise had little, if any, impact on my weight. There are many posters on this thread who are unable to exercise for a variety of reasons and who’ve successfully lost significant amounts of weight (Cinque, Merry, Lael for example). I lost 23 kg without changing my exercise level at all. I walk a minimum of 5km every day, sometimes up to 12km. I do some HIT if I’m walking alone. That’s it.

You’re right to consider this a new way of eating for life. Good luck with your first fast day. You haven’t asked for any advice but I read elsewhere that you’ve been inspired by hearing Dr M. on the radio today. I recommend that you buy his book which will give you all the basics and the science behind 5:2. Meanwhile, ask us anything!

Cinque, your grand-daughter is the apple of your eye! 😉 Aren’t we silly! That’s good to know that it was a ‘first seizure’ only and not epilepsy. Hurray for that news and that he can drive again (I’m thinking of you). Did your daughter end up passing her driving test?

LJoyce

8:20 am
13 Jan 17
Permalink

Just finishing my 3rd FD for the week. I did the extra one as I thought I’d be going to book club tomorrow – and the afternoon tea is always a calorie bonanza – so I thought an extra FD would “balance the books”. Well, book club is now cancelled, so it looks like I’ll be able to see what a normal 4:3 week is like. I might do this again occasionally but I think 5:2 fits more easily into my lifestyle.

thinatlast

10:28 am
13 Jan 17
Permalink

LJ, good job, have you been rewarded on the scales after 3 FDs?

Merryme

11:09 am
13 Jan 17
Permalink

Hi All, welcome to newbies,

Briefly, – still in my wriggle room window 62-64, around 63.5, 2FDs /week
– exercise physiologist rehab session today, -asked about impact of going down a bit more, no worries, new goal is 60kgs with wriggle room 60-62.kg, maybe even 59-61. (5’6″)
– Asked about glycogen stores – glycogen storage is in all muscles and liver, glycogen in muscles used before that in liver.
– beginning to very very slowly work on rehabing muscle strenth and increasing walking a bit this year; told me to have protein and then some carbs after my session.

Gave away too large exerciise clothes of last 2 yrs; got 3/4 gym pants today, size S!! Tried M and had to go back for S.

Onwards and downwards,
Merry