thinatlast: Thank you for the welcome. I appreciate you all replying to me. I have found that for me, getting rid of snacks is going to make a huge difference! I have been looking at the veg dishes I normally eat – and its more portion control I need to worry about. Thanks again for your support.

Cinque – Hi again. I know I said no scales – but I am already thinking that maybe I might change that it the next few weeks when I begin to lack motivation as a booster!

Joffy: thanks for the food tables! I have been googling calories, and was getting different results from different websites. So to play it safe was going with the ones with the highest amount. Hahah lucky me I already have skinny ankles! All my weight is in the middle tummy, back and breasts! From headshots you cannot tell that I have weight issues.

Update on my journey: Yesterday went well. I did have trouble eating up to my TDEE, as I felt that even after eating a tiny amount I felt extremely full and sick. My body getting used to the changes. Today is a FD. I started my fast at 6.30pm last night, and so far have had 2 Mentos (10 calories each) and drink plenty of water. I am trying to avoid food for as long as possible, as I am a binge eater, so a little bit will trigger me off. Dinner tonight will be pumpkin curry with 1 whole wheat roti (total 233 for the meal). I plan to continue to past until about 9am Saturday morning.

Update on me: I am on this journey as I am going through a tough patch in my life and this is one part of my life I can take control of. I am in a marriage which I want to last, but I am not sure if it will…which will turn my life, and my two children’s lives upside down. By focusing on this – I feel like I am saying sane.

I love reading everyone’s updates, and may not always post, but will always be reading. Congratulations to all the members who have reached a goal this week, and for all the others, remember this is only one week of the year, and you always have next week to reach that goal of yours!

*Sorry Boolke, I see it’s 5kgs more that you want to lose.

Scared, thanks for your post. I hope everything works out the way you want it. And isn’t lovely to be able to say that you can take control of food instead of the other way round. I was 59 when I could finally say that! I’m a bit worried about that roti on a FD! I’m sure you’ve calculated it properly but that does seem a rather yummy and indulgent meal for only 233 cals – and one I’d like to incorporate into my own FDs! I think you’re right to put off eating as long as possible. For many of us, it awakens the hunger dragon. It’s another reason I can’t see the ‘revised 5:2’ working as well as its adherents would never learn to go without food.

Joffy, you do make me laugh. And hey! Well done on the 14kg loss. No wonder your glasses are falling off your face. It sounds as though 5:2 is working for you exactly as intended – enjoying absolutely everything you love on MOST days, making a sacrifice on two days and reaping amazing benefits. I wouldn’t consider that a slow loss. Mine was a steady loss of 2kg per month with one or two plateaus. You must be getting a lot of compliments from family and friends. Have you noticed other benefits like increased mobility, lower BP, etc?

Hi Intesha, Merry and Cinque. You’re all on another page now so I won’t risk going back. Cinque how did that meeting work out from a couple of weeks back? I hope you’re taking it easy and looking after yourself. Cool weather here too now. Intesha, you are also one of the backbones of this thread so don’t stay away too long! Hope things are going well for you now.

Hi everyone else, have a great weekend all.

Sounds like you’re doing everything right on FDs. Although it’s a pain, I suppose the obvious thing then is to have a look at NFD intake. I tried this once and didn’t get beyond counting the cals of all the things that go into my breakfast bowl. I decided this is probably why calorie counting works – the inputter thinks twice about putting things into the mouth as it’s a nuisance putting them into a cal counter as well. Either that or just keep going as you are, treat it like maintenance and any weight loss will just be a bonus.

Hi all and welcome Boolke and Scared.

Boolke, like Thin said, I can’t see why you aren’t losing more either. I think sometimes our body has its own idea of what it’s ideal weight should be and resists all attempt to push the issue. If we are fit and healthy it doesn’t have to be a problem.

Scared, I eat a lot of vegetarian meals (although not exclusively) with lots of legumes so it’s perfectly possible to do FDs with vegetarian meals. Don’t worry about weighing yourself regularly, it’s not obligatory. We all have our own rhythm with weighing. I only weigh once per month as it makes me too disheartened to follow my eating program and not lose weight and this happen too often if I weigh weekly – over a month the natural fluctuations in my weight have less effect so I’m more likely to see numbers I find encouraging.

Hove everyone’s having a good day. It’s a NFD for me and then I’m doing my 3rd FD for the week tomorrow Yesterday’s FD was tough and I ended up at around 600cals but as I’m doing 3 this week I’m not particularly worried. I have an appointment with the dietitian tomorrow – haven’t seen her since November as I only need an occasional check-in these days.

Oh dear Gday, three lost posts is just cruel!
But other than that, what a great week you had! Have a lovely weekend with D!

Joffy congratulations on your half way mark! 14kg is a lot to not be carrying around all the time! Cheers for the next 14kg that are heading the same way!

Welcome Boolke, I hope your new plan breaks through that plateau!

Congrats on your good fast day Scared! I also find it is easiest to cruise through a fast day with drinks, and then eat at the end of the day.
Maybe you don’t need to eat up to your TDEE if you don’t feel like it.

Thin, the meeting wasn’t successful, although it still managed to be a good meeting. We just weren’t in a strong enough position to convince them we could do the cafe. I still think we could have pulled it off, but they would have been taking a bigger risk than they were prepared to. Fair enough.
So now I am doing all the finishing off things to end that project (will update my website today), and then will be the fun work of deciding what we can do next.

I finally feel that I am in the rhythm of Wednesday/Sunday fast days (making the enormous change from Thursday/Sunday fast days!!!!!) (oops sorry for all the !!!! Thin 😉 ) and I know because yesterday I enjoyed my ‘lull’ day, which has changed from Tuesday to Friday. That’s the day that isn’t a fast day, and doesn’t have a fast day on either side. For some reason, it is important for me to feel and savor that day, and yesterday was the first time I have enjoyed a lull day for I don’t know how long. It just took my brain a long time to integrate the change!

LJoyce, enjoy your fast day today, I hope it is an easy pleasant one for a change!

Cheers everyone!

Hi Everyone,
Welcome, or welcome again, to Boolke and Scared🙂
Life is continuing to be very full on, not badly so, but a bit hectic, so my eating is a bit more all over the place though not seriosly so. 64.0 this morning – my original trigger weight. So much for my plan to go down a bit under my goal weight if 62kg. Constantly being out of the house, less control over my food supply, and a bit of stress eating are starting to take their toll. That said, I still fitted easily into a new pair of size 10 pants/slacks/trousers (what do you call them these days) and bought a size 10 dress this week. It’s a wrap dress and given I am usually 2 different sizes top and bottom, the wrap style is a good compromise. It’s been easier, over the last 20 yrs of health and subsequent weight challenges, to wear separates, and that has rarely been a skirt, so buying an actual dress has been amazing! Haven’t worn it yet though.

Funerals are frequent for us at the moment, meaning catching up with family and old friends at the moment, and reminiscing over old photographs. A wedding group photo was up in the photo loop yesterday and relliesI haven’t seen for a long time remarked that I looked the same (size not age of course). Funerals are one of those bittersweet things. But, looking at that photo, there really isn’t a heap of difference even though I was 57-58kgs at the time. No evidence of my top weight if 93kg, or even the 83kgs I was when I started 5:2. So much to be grateful for!

Re plateaus – I’ve plateaued a number of times. I seem to have lost my 21 kgs in steps and stairs. My major plateau about 3 months after starting 5:2 went on past a normal plateau time of 3 weeks and someone here suggested I look at cutting out grain foods. There appears to be a group of people where these foods halt weight loss. There’s another group who contue to lose successfully while eating some grains. I turned out to be in the 1st group.

I decided to consider myself as annexperiment in progress and trial things. I knew by then that 5:2 worked, and that I could work it. I just had to figure out how. So I trialled things. Went of all grain foods, including gluten free ones and substitutes, and my weight immediately started going down again. I have tested this several times. I can eat small amounts to stay stable, but I can’t eat them to lose weight.

More people are starting to ask me about 5:2 now as it is becoming apparent to them that the weight is now off and staying off. I wonder how many will take it up. I get the occasional “don’t lose any more weight” comment, but I just reply that my doctors are very happy with it, and change the subject.

Onwards and Downwards,
Merry

Well I hit the wall this morning (not literally) – I couldn’t face yet another FD after only 1 NFD break so I decided to not end my week with a 3rd FD. Next week I am planning 3FD (starting with tomorrow) as I have book club afternoon tea next Saturday and my great-nephew’s 21st lunch next Sunday, so I want to go into that weekend knowing I have an extra FD safety net. The current plan is for FDs on Sun, Tues & Fri.

It has occurred to me that on weeks where I choose to do a 3rd FD I could consider using the new 800cal option for 1 of those days – might make it more doable as I find that 3rd FD really hard to face. Depending on what my weight is at the end of March, I may just go back to 5:2 and accept that the weight loss will be slow. If I’m under 80kg I can live with the last few kgs coming off slowly.

I saw the dietitian this morning. I managed to get some insight into the eating blow-out I had in December that actually caused the weight gain that I’m currently trying to rectify. I have been reading a book that she recommended by Rick Kausman called “If Not Dieting Then What”. He covers things that are helpful for someone with a binge eating disorder like me. His approach attempts to help people develop a better body image and a more natural eating pattern and approach to food. His advice on understanding your appetite; choosing the food you want when you actually want it; eating mindfully and appreciating every mouthful – these have had the most impact on my tendency to overeat. What I have found quite puzzling is that the idea of “choosing the food you want when you actually want it” sound counter-intuitive for a binge eater, but weirdly it does help. I do feel closer to a normal approach to food than I have been before – that’s a good thing.

Hope those of you doing FDs managed (unlike me) to stick to them. I’ll join the Sunday fasters tomorrow.

Hi LJ,

My thinking has gone much the same as yours today. I started out doing a 3rd FD. That was to counteract all the disruption in my food regime this week. That would have meant FDs on Thur, Sat today, then Monday. Alternate days. I’m having a rest day today to catch up on energy and that’s not a great day for me to do a FD, so I reconsidered and decided to do a low calorie day instead.

Psychologically I don’t handle alternate days well, and would never have been able to do Dr Varaday’s regime of Alt Day Fasting. Alt DF and other Intermittant Fasting regimes are less doable for many people, which is why Dr Moseley put forward 5:2 in his documentary on Intermittant Fasting. It’s called “Eat, Fast, and Live Longer” and it is on Youtube.

So… today I’m up to 268 calories at 4.50pm. Part of my challenge with doing the alternate day fasting is that for me , I need to not eat before dinner at night on a FD. Not being 100% today that was not a good option, so I’ve opted for the next best option. I’ve had a boiled egg, miso soup with 100gms konjak noodles, a small apple and a skim milk coffee.

LJ, you’ve had a good meeting with your dietitian. That book sounds good. A decision to accept that the weight may come off a bit slower than you’d like may be the right path for you. It will still work. My journey was much slower than lots of others but I still got to my normal weight. And it feels great!

Merry

Good morning, it is Sunday fast day. But I am not going to be able to do that research thing, maybe on Wednesday!

Hi Thin, happy fast day! It is a shame about the cafe not going ahead, but we got ourselves out of a bad arrangement with a local organisation, lots of support from the community, and lots of really good experience, so I am judging it as positive all in all (although still tying up ends, I have a tricky email to write today, wish me luck).

LJoyce, Hitting the wall was a very natural reaction! It is nice for you to know that you are batting above average and it is ok to go back to 5:2 if you need to. It is a good idea to do 800calories on the third fast day!

I have listened to and read Rick Kausman. I really love his work.
Unfortunately other things were impacting on me when I was putting on weight: my brain, or gut biome, or both, sending those intolerable signals telling me I needed to eat. It is only cutting out sugar, and 5:2, that have helped with that.
However Rick Kausman (and originally Susie Orbach) helped shape my understanding and knowledge about food and society, and mindful eating, and trusting, and that has been really wonderful.

Great work Merry! Oh dear, three funerals in two weeks is very hard. I hope you get a nice long time of everyone you know staying alive now.

I’m going to pull out my zucchini plants today, once I have written that email!
It is feeling like a good fast day!

Good Morning and good fasting to the Sunday fasters.

Hope the email is not too tricky Cinque, and well done on getting through these final challenges in a good head space. Thin, your day sounds lovely. Sometimes we need pottering gentle days.

My low-call strategy yesterday has worked well. Slept for 11hrs! 63.0 kg this morning. That’s a 1kg difference yesterday morning to this morning which seems bizarre, bit I reckon there’s a bit if extra fluid retention let go if there. Retaining a bit more fluid when I’ve been overdoing things and getting more tired seems to be a pattern. Happy to see that figure on the scale this morning though I expected it to be 63.5-6 ish.

I’ve been continuing to count steps hoping I can build it up a little. My goal is to eventually, some year, to get to 10,000 per day. Steps yesterday where 1000, which is dreadful, but indicative of my state of health yesterday. With ME/CFS it takes weeks to comeback from overdoing it. Here’s my step record for the last weeks:

Week 1: average 3166, highest 5380, lowest 2606
Week 2: ” 4952, highest 8659, lowest 2339
Week 3: ” 4617, highest 6536, lowest, 2144
Week 4: ” 6553, highest 11,121, lowest 3134
Week 5: “. 2472, highest 4219, lowest 713
Week 6: still going, highest 5994, lowest 1000

My shorter term goal is to see if I can get to 5000 average per week with a more even spread of steps. It may not be possible but we’ll see. That week in the middle is what really knocked me around a bit, but that 11,121 day was a special day I don’t regret. I went to an Adele concert! There were also a 7000 day and 8000 day in there, so a huge week.

I encourage everyone who does not have a medical reason to be less active, to get out there and be as physically active as you can be. It won’t contribute hugely to your weight loss but will keep you healthier. It is important at whatever age you are to keep your body as active and functioning well. It’s easy to get complacent as the decades go past. It is easy in our type of society to be more sedentary than we need to be, whether that’s because of a seated occupation or just not giving ourselves the time. Sitting in front of. TV or game console doesn’t get us anywhere.

Off my soapbox now
Onwards and downwards,
Merry

I need to get back into the mindset and be accountable. Another mindless eating day yesterday.

FD today 67.6 this morning, not too bad in the scheme of things but it’s been awhile since I glimpsed that 65.

Only teas and coffee so far all black. Will have a protein shake in about an hour. Nearly finished my container load Thin maybe two more left and then I will probably have soup. My pumpkins are going crazy with all this rain so no excuse not to make soup.

Cinque I think you need a well deserved rest from all that planning before you start another project.

Check in tomorrow 😀

Here’s a short lecture from Herman Pontzer if anyone’s interested. Watch it standing up!
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/pontzer-the-evolution-of-human-metabolism/

Hi LJ,

No, it’s not too emotional of an issue.; it’s all part of our history of excess weight and ill health. I read Thin’s comment as meaning “over-eating” rather than “greed”. Back in a little while…..
Merry

Our posts crossed Merry. Yes, exactly that. The words gluttony, obesity and sloth aren’t very complimentary are they?

All this should be good news for people who can’t exercise much (I know I was happy to read that I probably burn as many calories as someone doing far more exercise than myself!) and underscores how Merry, Cinque and others have been so successful with 5:2 despite their limitations in physical activity. It also explains how I spent thousands of dollars in gym memberships over many years without enjoying the slightest change to my weight. Of course there were health benefits, it’s just that weight loss wasn’t among them.

Hi, I’ve just been out watering the garden and mulling through my thoughts.

Thin, I do realise that you were trying to make the point that it’s diet rather than activity that has the far greater impact on weight and I do absolutely agree with this. It was just that one statement “Obesity is a disease of gluttony, not sloth” that set me off. It took me so long to realise what I was doing and why and that dealing with the issue as diet/nutrition problem was never going to resolve it.

I have a wonderful GP, who helped me figure out in my mid-20s that I was using weight as protection – I had been completely unaware on a conscious level that I was doing that, I assumed that I just lacked willpower. It took me another 25 years to actually resolve enough of the underlying issues that I could then finally deal with the symptom (my weight).

I think too many doctors see obesity as a lack of nutrition knowledge (and offer advice)or a lack of will power (and offer bariatric surgery) rather than an emotional/mental health issue to be dealt with. I’ve often wondered why they can see than anorexia (starving yourself to death) is as much a mental health issue as a dietary one, but can’t see those parallels in morbid obesity (eating yourself to death). My GP said this was never covered in med school (although med school was quite a while ago for him so what they teach may have changed since then).

By the way, I have no trouble admitting to being slothful all too often – an hour reading a book always sounds far more inviting to me than a hour walking. I’m always striving for a better balance with this one.

Wanted to say, LJ, that we had a discussion on this thread some time ago, maybe even a year ago, where nearly every female posting at that time had difficult childhood issues they identified as being a definite part of their overeating. It was amazing and eye opening as we all went me too, me too, me too. It said a lot , and it said a lot about choldhood abuse and also mother/daughter relationships as 2 parts of that. Me too. And it is something we discuss when we meet face to face.

We grieve for the happy childhoods we didn’t have and we grieve about the emotional and psychological distress and damage and consequent food issues that are brought into play.

Other than overeating, I have also known someone with morbid obesity from a genetic
disorder and also from medicinal side effects.

There was not much happiness or peace of mind in my childhood, and for me food was a way of being able to feel “good”. Still does. 5:2 has been an extraordinary gift in my life that gave me a way to sustainably normalise my weight and keep it normalised. I am very, very grayeful to Dr Moseley and that documentary. 5:2 has given me back some of myself, improved my self-image and self-esteem. It’s improved my health,😄😄😄💕 and allows me to still sometimes have the foods that say “you’re OK”.

Much love to you all,
Merry

Hello all, have joined today and am starting my journey tomorrow. I am from perth and am very excited to begin this new way of life. I need to lose around 60kg and i know that it wont be easy but i have to say that reading all of ur inspirational stories on here will keep me focused. I have to say that this new eating plan (not a diet as i hate that word) certainly feels to be so achievable. So excited to get started with my first fast day tomorrow. Thanks all 😊

Hi Nell, welcome here! I’m in Perth too. You’ve come to the right place. You’re being thrown in the deep end with us lot today!

Merry, I hadn’t remembered that discussion on our thread but it does seem vaguely familiar now that you mention it. I didn’t have a happy childhood either and food issues loom large in my memories of it. However, I don’t mean to trivialise others’ experiences because we were safe, well-educated, well-provided for and I was certainly never physically or sexually abused, nothing like that. When I learned I was having a daughter, I cried because I was so worried about having the same relationship as I’d had with my own mother. Fortunately, we don’t have to repeat our parents’ mistakes and, despite the extra large generation gap, I have a very good relationship with my own daughter.

LJ, that photo image thing is interesting. I definitely knew I was overweight but it was in seeing photos of myself that I realised just how bad I looked. I wonder why it is different from a mirror image – is it because the mirror image is animated and real? Is it that we’re standing in front of a mirror (looking a bit more streamline) but seated for photos (rolls of fat showing)?

Well, it’s been a heavy fast day! Looking forward to tomorrow’s weigh-in and frothy coffee. I hope it’s been a good day for all the fasters, and non-fasters. Good luck tomorrow Nell. Ask us anything. We think we know everything. Not really!

Hi fellow Southern Hemispherites!

I’ve caught up reading all the posts and there’s a lot of food for thought which I’d love to respond to, though am off to work soon and then I’ll be studying later this afternoon, so I’ll keep this brief. …Well that’s the plan, we’ll see if I can pull that off!

Welcome to new members Scared, Nell69 and broolke. You’ve come to my favorite thread on this forum and a place I hope you end up feeling as at home in as I do.

Broolke, I’m just wondering if you’ve measured your fat percentage? There are various methods of doing this, both by doing some measurements with a tape measure. Alternatively some scales offer body fat measurement as an option (though some question the accuracy of these – I compared mine with the tape measure method and mine coincided). With the intense exercise, and did I read ‘weight training?’, could it be that your muscle mass is such that your weight at present is at bottom of healthy BMI range? I’m curious to know what your BMI is currently? I might have missed it if you posted it.

With regard to what caused me to be overweight, as many on this forum know, I too cite emotional eating and bingeing as the reason (I’d like to blame the food industry or lack of education/poor food choices, though those factors are minor influences in my equation). In my twenties when my bingeing and weight were at their worst, I did turn to psychotherapy to help me and this helped me immensely. Had I not gotten help there I may have continued my midnight visits to 24 hour Winchell’s doughnuts where I’d select a half dozen of my favorites and eat them in the car on the way home. …I didn’t suffer physical or sexual abuse either. My abuse was psychological and I’ve learned in my TAFE class studies that psychological abuse can have even far reaching consequences than physical abuse (though the two often go together). For example, I know of someone personally a very wise woman who I greatly respect, who suffered both physical and psychological abuse as a child, who is now in her 50s. This friend says that she feels that she got over the physical abuse long ago. However, the negative ways she was treated emotionally and what was said to her verbally bubbles up in her mind, though usually represented as her own voice and attitudes toward herself and that she continues to be a work in progress toward overcoming these. I resonate with that which makes me much more understanding and compassionate towards myself with regard to my bingeing and emotional eating. In fact what has helped me most with bingeing and emotional eating is something I’ve probably mentioned previously which is in response to a binge episode or when I’m aware I’m eating out of emotional hunger (hanger, hunxiety) rather than true physical hunger is to be the best mother I can be to myself, which is a challenge in and of itself since I can’t rely on roll models from growing up.

I’ve also discovered other ways that make all the difference, though I’ve got to get ready for work now!

Love reading everyone’s posts even if I am not able to comment on them all individually.

I’m fasting tomorrow (Tuesday).

Good morning everyone,
A nice day-after-fast-day for me. We have gone all humid and wet, and still warm. The garden loves it!

Minka so glad you could take a little time to post, I know how busy you are! I hope it is a really good day! Your journey has turned you into an amazing woman!

So, it seems, has everyone else’s! Although in some cases it is an amazing man!

Gday, oh dear, the dreaded skinflab. I am pretty sure our bodies need to work at their own slow pace (the older we are the slower the pace) dealing with it. I have read that resistance training may help, but you can’t count on it. “Several factors affect loss of skin elasticity during weight changes, including age, genetics and the length of time someone has carried excess weight.”
I remember seeing a woman on TV who lost an enormous amount of weight at the Curves Gym and she looked like a strong slender woman inside a huge baggy skin costume! She was as fit as anything, but needed surgery to deal with excess skin. http://www.webmd.com/diet/obesity/features/you-lost-weight-what-about-extra-skin#1
I am still hopeful that my flabby upper arms might still have enough elasticity to go back but, whether they do or not, I am healthier and prepared to wear sleeveless dresses!
Congrats on the size 10 outfits, you will rock them!

Merry I hope you can make a lovely little esky up with the best food in it. I’ll be thinking of you at the third funeral tomorrow.
It is not fair, is it, that at times of stress and busyness, it is harder to be organised and sensible!

My response…. I am taking off to do some opshopping!

Best wishes everyone!

Thanks for sharing that Intesha. I was at boarding school with some ‘army and navy brats’ as they were called in the UK. I was a bit scared of some of their dads when I went home with them for weekends, they were so strict and also quite detached but the latter might have been a generational trait. Your memory of your dad talking of the Korean kids reminded me that mine used to say, “there are children in Biafra starving to death”. I wanted to say “send it to them, then” but I wouldn’t have dared be cheeky.

Well, I’m pretty well up on Africa these days but I just had to look up which country used to be Biafra. I found out that Biafra, officially the Republic of Biafra, was an unrecognised state in southeastern Nigeria that existed from May 1967 to January 1970. That’s an interesting piece of information to me because of my age at the time. I mentioned yesterday that issues with food loom large in my childhood memories but even I was surprised to discover just now that I was still being told at the meal table to finish my plate because of starving children in Africa – when aged 11-14 years or older!

Intesha I think it is amazing what you do for your parents. I’m estranged from my mother (sometimes you have to make hard decisions as GDSA I think it was has recently done) but I made peace with my dad before he died. Even so, and geography aside, there is no way I could consider looking after either of them in their old age after the job they did with us as parents. Our DD is often joking that we’d better be nice to her because she’ll be choosing our nursing home.

GDSA, I was thinking about you on your picnic yesterday. I’d forgotten about the bowling but you didn’t go anyway.

Minka, I like what you said about being the best mother to yourself. I feel sorry that you suffered psychological abuse as a child.

Cinque, hope the op shopping was productive. Merry, good luck getting back in the swing. Nell, how did you get on with your first FD today?

thinatlast, I actually did answer back to my father about the starving children. “Dad, exactly how will my eating something here in any way do something good for those poor children?” I believe it was the last time other children were mentioned at the dinner table.

Congratulations Nell! I remember how relieved I was at the end of my first fast day, that it was so much easier than I was afraid it would be!

Ha K-Lo good on you for answering back. I think my sister and I talked about posting our unwanted food to the poor starving kids. Which is probably what should be done, on a global level!

I’ve got my 2yo granddaughter with me, she had a very unsettled night! Ended up reading her stories at 4 and she did get back to sleep around five, but that wad all after an hour or more of wriggling. She is worst when she misses her nap, which she did yesterday. This also means I might have to cut and run, she wants to go outside and play in the puddles! Lucky she is a darling!

Nothing in the opshop I am afraid, Thin. But I only went to one. I might fit more in tomorrow!

Excellent work with your kids Joffy. And congratulations on another good fast day. It is the principle, I agree. Funny how habits overtake us though!

We try so hard to do better by our kids!
Must go!

Hi all, at work but finding it hard to concentrate so thought I’d log on and read some posts.

Yes I too was told about the starving children while at the dinner table. My father was very strict & would sit next to us at the table with a cut off horse whip in his hand while we ate. I still cant get my head around why he thought wacking me on the back with a whip while i was sobbing so much i couldnt get my breath would make me eat. What was left on the plate after the awful battle was put in front of us for breakfast.

I totally blame this for the fact that i was a fussy eater up until about 10 years ago when my D was born. For probably 20 years i declined all social invitations that involved food/eating because i felt so embarrassed and hated being in any ‘food’ situations with other people.

Better get back to work now then off to pick up my secondhand treadmill.

GDSA I am so sorry you had to deal with this awful behaviour growing up. No child should have to grow up in fear. It’s an absolute credit to you that you have managed to move beyond the damage that this caused and have been able to raise your daughter in a different way and with a better attitude to food.
Breaking the cycle with children and grandchildren is one the best legacies that I think we can leave.