Hello Southern Hemispherites!!

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  • Thankyou for the link Simcoeluv, I found the FAQ’s very useful. I am really looking forward to this new way of eating, and considering I have really struggled with past diets (Dukan) where I have put back all the weight, it seems relatively simple to follow. Hoping it will not be too challenging on those fast days.

    Good morning all and happy Mothers Day.

    Haven’t posted for a while but have kept up with the thread.

    Been bobbling along around the same weight for about three weeks (lack of discipline around Easter, birthday and general slackness on non-fast days to blame).

    Have returned to keeping a food diary for N-F days, with standard 2x500calorie fast days and was delighted by a 1.2kg loss last week. The N-F day amount eaten was a little below my TDEE so not at all arduous but kept me focussed.

    Fasting tomorrow – have a good week everyone.

    Great work Nicki! And happy Mother’s Day!

    I just have to tell you all about my excitement about buying new size 12 jeans and even being happy to try them on in the changing room first!! It’s been so very long since I liked what I saw in the mirror…I think my bum looks good in these jeans too, it surely must have shrunk a lot, as my old pair of jeans were a saggy-baggy size 16.

    Have a wonderful day everyone, and keep on keepin’ on! 5:2 is truly a winning formula.

    Oh IHAW, me too!
    Well done you 🙂
    My old size 16 jeans just slid clean off my hips, so they are in the Op shop bag now!

    Happy Mother’s day to all.

    Yay IHAW and Aussienow. Well done. Both of you. Me too. Went from size 16 to 12 this year. 🙂 first time in 20 years. Feels wonderful. I am sticking to no frills plain and simple 5:2.

    @bayleafoz, I don’t ever remember being a size 12 in my adult life!
    Like you, I prefer the plain and simple food we always have, just less of it and being more aware of the calorie count.
    I’m a lifer for this one, unlike the others I’ve tried!

    Happy Mothers Day girls.
    Me too. Gone from Size 16 to size 12 in dresses, but size 9 in jeans in a year. Fabulous. Am also on it for life.
    Keep up the good work.
    PVE

    Happy Mother’s Day to all you great Mums out there.
    Wore a pair of pants yesterday which I haven’t been able to get into for about 5 years. Such a great feeling!!
    Good luck next week to my fellow fasters…….

    Happy Mothers Day all!

    Lucky tomorrow’s a fast day. My daughter cooked pancakes for me for brunch (I love them with lemon and sugar) and the kids also gave me a box of Roses chocolates! Only a little bit of weight loss sabotage…… I’ll enjoy every single one – just not all at once!

    I’ve enjoyed wearing my new, smaller, jeans. Now to work on going down one more size.

    Hi all,
    I’ve just been meandering around the last couple of pages here – thought I’d say hello and share a little of my experience prompted by your comment Aussienow. “I’m a lifer…” and so am I. Thank goodness for a strategy that works instead of a diet.
    Whilst I can see the catchy double entendre in “Fast Diet”, I don’t really like it because for me, it is emphatically NOT a diet. I can stay with this strategy without guilt, frustration, entrapment, failure and all the other things that come with diets.
    It makes sense to me and in conjunction with the iPad app called “myfitnesspal” I have learned a great deal about food, and judging quantities which I realise was sadly lacking. I have also discovered my addictive response to sugar much of which has to do with the rotten taste it leaves behind so I eat more.
    About myfitnesspal. it takes a while for myfitnesspal to remember my frequently eaten foods but is such an easy way to quantify my intake. An advantage with 5:2 is memorising meals. I’ve worked out my fave FD meals and just put them in from the list. It also helps me not to go over 500 calories. I recall someone was talking about making Anzac biscuits – you can record the total ingredients for a recipe then myfitnesspal divides the total by the servings and you have the calories for each one. Love it!
    So, some benefits for me – I started using myfitnesspal last July and lost 8Kg to end November. Started 5:2 early in December and have lost a total of 17Kg now. I’m happy to take it slowly and wait to fit into my skin better. Just as importantly, my arthritic joints are less inflamed, my feet don’t hurt, my cholesterol is down a bit, and my skin irritation has gone. These are great advantages.
    I found I had to sort out what regime suited me. For instance, eating breakfast on Fast Days is not for me. I don’t last the day very well, get grumpy as hell, get starving! Skipping breakfast works for me – I tried eating breakfast late in the morning but that was a nuisance. Now I have coffee mid-morning, lunch of vegies and an egg or tuna and piles of salad, miso soup at about 5 PM and dinner of fish and vegies. That’s about it.
    Well I’ve taken enough space. Nice to talk to fellow southern hemispherites.
    All the best to all,
    Ros.
    PS. forgive any errors – I’m doing my best to write and keep track of Inspector Gently at the same time!!!

    It’s so good that you’ve had both wonderful results in weight loss and in other unexpected health areas, like arthritis and skin issues. Well done Ros! And personally, I love to hear long comments, talking about all sorts of related issues, so please don’t be shy. Feel free to share how your new healthy journey is going and all of the issues you encounter along the way.

    This is definitely a way of life, a mind and attitude change, rather than a system for weight loss. I agree with you completely! Who needs all the guilt, anxiety and frustrations that go along with traditional diets? I certainly don’t that’s for sure!

    Keep on posting, cheers!

    Hi everyone,
    To all the mums out there, belated Happy Mothers Day. Today is six months into this WOL/WOE and am I happy. BMI under 40, total loss 17.3 kg, energy levels high, health great, life could not be better at present.

    We’ll done to everyone that has recent losses, and you girls with your size 12 jeans, something that I can only dream of, but off to the big city of Melbourne this week for some size 20 retail therapy. 🙂

    Not bad after being size 26 for many many years. If I can continue at this rate then by Christmas I will be under 100kg for the first time that I can remember. At sixteen years of age I was a size 16.

    What’s happening on the farm, well May is the end of calving, and the young maiden cows, called heifers have a bull out with them so they begin calving in nine months time. The cows are to be shortly separated into mobs for their joining as well. Some of then will not see a bull at the start but will be artificially inseminated to bulls that come from the other side of the world.

    Although we have had good rain, with the days cooling the feed is slowing in growth, so we are feeding the cows every few days. I love this as I am out with my girls, and it is great to watch the poddys as they run around, playing chasey. Our cows are beef cows and they rear their calves until they are 9 to 10 months old.
    Enough from me, have a great week everyone,

    Cheers, Charlie. 🙂

    Onya Charlie. Have fun in the city with your size 20 shopping spree. You sound as frisky as those poddies. It’s not cheap, this losing weight business but it’s very good struttin’ value!
    Cheers,
    Ros.

    Thanks IHAW.
    Nice to join you and to get your supportive message. You’ve been doing pretty well yourself. 🙂
    Cheers,
    Ros.

    Go Charlie! Size 20 is brilliant, well done!

    It’s so interesting to read all about your girls and how they are doing. Do you think that the ones who get artificially inseminated feel like they’ve missed their turn with the resident Casanova? Haha, only joking! But I’m sure he makes many heifers very happy, it’s a hard job, but someone’s got to do it…..oh the life of an very active gigolo is such an effort, always keeping in shape and looking nice for the ladies….does he have a name? Stud-muffin, Rocky, Spike, or maybe even George Clooney?

    I like the Murray Greys, they seem smaller and more placid than some of the ones we get around here, which are Brahmins. What variety do you breed? And do you show them? I love to hear about women doing well in agriculture, it’s such an inspiration to keep my own dreams alive about owning my own small place me day.

    Ps, my chooks are laying again, and have started growing their tail feathers back. Thanks for the advice.

    Back to 5:2, this morning I’m down 900 gm, not long to go before I’m 70 kg! Yay!

    Thanks IHAW,
    The boy out with the heifers is called Harrison, and yes he is handsome, dark cherry red, red patches around his eyes and no horns(polled). Our breed is called Fleckvieh, it’s a European breed that literally translates fleck-spotted, vieh-cow. They range in colour from blonde to dark cherry red and can have white on them anywhere. They are very placid animals. I don’t show them at present, as it is very time consuming but I plan to in the future. Have a great week. Charlie.

    Your cows sound gorgeous, and Harrison is a lucky boy, I don’t suppose he’s named after Harrison Ford, by any chance?

    Good morning fellow 5:2ers

    Just checking in, good fast day yesterday with small water-only porridge for breakfast and veg stir-fry for dinner. Supplemented my husband’s with l/over roast chook and rice noodles (he eats what he likes and is still slim). It makes me mad when he thinks he needs to lose a bit – just gives up biscuits and cake for a while! 🙁

    Working an odd week this week (Mon, Wed, Fri)so 2nd fast on Friday.

    Charlie your cattle sound beautiful. Used to live in NT – not many beautiful beasts there!

    Have fun shopping for new gear. It may be a little costly but better than spending our hard-earned on expensive diet foods and systems which don’t stand the test of time.

    IHAW, glad to hear your feathered girls have started performing again; fresh eggs are great.

    Have a good week everyone.

    Hi all. First week on TFD and looking for encouragement from other older men (55+). Surprised I did not feel more hungry on fast days – more bored with not eating than suffering hunger pangs. Still, have a busy job and lots of family things before and after the 8 to 6 in Sydney CBD. Put onto TFD by my doctor who claims her husband lost 11 kg over 4.5 months – I would be very happy with a similar result.

    Hi everyone, I have just started the TFD and planning my first fast day for Thursday. I recorded the program on SBS months ago but only ‘found’ it a few days ago, and like all of you I thought – I could actually do this! So I hunted down the web site and read some of the posts and it seems like it works for so many people. I am 58, mother of five, grandmother of 3 (soon to be 4)work full time and over recent years the weight has been creeping up and the BMI right along with it. I need to nip the creep in the bud!

    All the best Robs girl for tomorrow – my second fast day this week was scheduled for tomorrow (a very predictable Thursday) but reminded last night of a uni event I need to go to that night so instead of missing out on the champagne have just brought forward fast to today. The 5:2 system appears to be very flexible which suits my busy life. I am sure that being mum of 5 and working full time will ensure your first f day goes well and you will power through your mind trying to tell you it needs to eat when the body is quite happy to have a break from constant eating.

    Hi GrahamE!
    Another 55+ man here. I started the 5:2 diet back in January, and so far have gone from 118.5kg to 110. I found that once I got my family used to the idea that I’m fasting on certain days, they were quite supportive. They’re especially happy with the results – down two sizes in pants and one in shirts. And I’m still statistically way overweight!

    Isn’t it amazing how much we get used to eating at certain times, whether our body actually needs it or not? It’s only when you’re challenged by something like this that you realise how much food you eat that your body doesn’t really need.

    We have a whiteboard on the kitchen freezer that I write my fast days on. Generally I try and stick to Tuesdays and Saturdays, but in case I need to change them I write them down AND notify the cook (twenty-something daughter) AND my wife – they can get stroppy if they’re not told, or else torpedo your efforts by bringing home fish and chips for all as a treat – you can’t NOT eat when they do that!

    And a reminder to all – with the cold and flu season coming on, put the fasting on hold if you get sick, and resume it when you’re over the bug. I’ve had a series of chest infections over the past month and have plateaued, but now I’m looking forward to dropping some more. A LOT more!

    Remember – we’re not losing weight, as we never want to find it again. Right?

    Thanks for the encouraging words GrahamE. I dont know why but I aged myself when writing last night and put an extra year on – I usually try my best to take years off! So only 57 and all my kids have flown the coop so not busy with them all day anymore. Totally busy at work though. Enjoy the uni event and I totally agree to moving your fast day,.

    So I survived my first Fast Day! Actually it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be. I had a small bowl of porridge cooked with water and no toppings or sweeteners for breakfast at 5.30am. Only water and green tea throughout the day and steamed veges with a little bit of chicken for dinner about 7.30pm. Although I did get some hunger pangs during the day they didn’t last for very long and because I was at work I had plenty to take my mind off them. I bought the Fast Cook book today, over the weekend I will check out the recipes and select some for my two fast days next week. I will also have to get a new copy of the calorie/kilojoule guide book to check out my general meals for the rest of the week.

    Excellent Robs girl! Keeping busy during the day is a big key to success with 5:2. Also understanding calories and where they hide. I find many helpful calorie counter sites online, especially with specific processed foods.

    I’m down to 71.2 kg this morning, my lowest yet. Not long till I reach 70, maybe in another month, and then by the end of the year I hope to reach my goal of 65kg, by then I should be in the healthy weight range for my height, which is short, but not Lilliputian.

    I had to laugh t myself, when my darling husband went shopping and proudly exclaimed that he was really aware of my need to have healthy food in the house due to me being on the 5:2….when I looked in the bags he’d bought an 8 pack of discounted pastries, a caramel macadamia tart which was also on special, and lastly a four pack of cheap meat pies. He insisted that he was ‘helping’ me, because he’d planned to eat the lot.

    When I smiled and asked where the healthy food was, he proudly pointed to the bananas and said they were a bargain at 99 cents a kilo, so he got 3 kilos of them. It’s a good thing he’s a skinny, active man, with the high calorie intake he loves to eat. But he’s still rather in the dark about what is healthy, rather than what is ‘desirable’. I have come to the serious conclusion that his taste buds stopped developing when he was ten, and those kind of foods still make him feel like a kid at a birthday party.

    Does anyone else’s partner do this, or is it just mine? It’s a good thing I don’t crave many sweet pasties anymore, otherwise I’d be sabotaging myself by being tempted to eat them!

    Have a wonderful weekend people, cheers!

    Hi ihaveawaist
    I was also married to a sweet tooth with absolutely no idea what healthy food meant. Luckily I am still married to him, but he has changed!
    We watched Michael’s program a year ago and he said he could do that! As an injecting diabetic who had gained masses of weight in recent years he knew he needed to do something.
    A year later, he has lost 30kg, I have lost 25. He no longer injects insulin and has very stable blood sugar readings. I bought the Fast Diet book and Recipe book and Kate Harrison’s 5:2 books and started introducing really healthy food, sneakily. I found the trick was lots of flavour (onions, chilli, garlic, lime etc) I was able to introduce all sorts of vegetables he would never have looked at previously (eg fennel and bok choy) and cut out all carbs, fat and alcohol on fast days. I even threw out naughty food I knew we should never eat again.
    As a boy who would only eat sweetened yoghurts, he now loves a small ramekin with blueberries, strawberries,a teaspoon of plain Greek yoghurt and a sprinkling of cinnamon as desert on normal days. He freely admits his tastes have changed completely.
    I utilised his love of data (he IS a scientist) to research calorie counts in foods and he made an Excel spreadsheet of the foods we commonly eat as a ready reference. He also set up a graph of our weight loss and included a predicted goal. It DID keep us on the straight and narrow.
    We are both now well within healthy weight and wear lovely new off the shelf tiny clothes and feel YEARS younger. We cannot let go though. As the weight drops, so do your daily calorie needs, so it is important to keep adjusting down. My husband’s daily blood sugar readings are a very good indicator to us on how good our eating choices have been.
    This “diet” can definitely reset your metabolism, teach you how to eat healthily and still enjoy yummy food.
    Cheers
    Purple Vegie Eater

    That’s a very inspirational story PVE, I’m so glad your hubby is right on board with you, and keeping track of all the data.

    My husband is a scientist too, maybe I’ll get him more interested in what I eat by showing him the figures. He was quite impressed with my homemade weekly chart I made, to assist me in seeing all of my progress… showing my weight, waist measurements and BMI over time. You’re correct about feeling years younger and adjusting the caloric needs to your smaller body, as you continue to shrink.

    Wouldn’t it be wonderful if every injecting diabetic got inspired enough to try this way of life? It would certainly be a health revolution, and save people many needless outcomes like peripheral neuropathy, blindness, stroke and kidney failure. Tell your husband to keep up the wonderful work in gaining back his life!

    Hi PVE and IHAW. Well said, both of you. I love this way of life. It’s great to read positive stories.

    We are on holidays and eating healthily. I am pleasantly surprised to find that no waist has been gained. Can’t tell about weight until we get home again. We eat breakfasts and dinners and drink lots of water in between. We walk lots each day and have a beer with each evening meal. No desserts.

    There are many people who simply don’t know the nutritional content of various food stuffs, as opposed to the calorie content. Looking at the recipes in the various 5:2 books is a helpful guide. It is important to be nutritionally well fed, so that the body doesn’t crave more empty calories. Simplistically, I tell myself that all foods that are sweetened or loaded with flour are empty calories. I focus on getting some protein and as much non-starchy vegetables as I feel like. Plus lots of water. I agree about chili, lime, garlic, herbs, spices.

    My metabolism certainly kicked up in the first few days of fasting and appears to be permanently reset. I am ecstatic about easily buying clothes off the rack in lower sizes. Once he saw the early results, I have had nothing but support from my husband.

    All the best.

    Hello everyone, I’m new to this forum and the fast diet. I have just completed my third fast day. I’ve found them relatively easy so far. I think I’ve lost around a kg so far and am sitting at about 71kg at the moment and want to get to around 58kg. About 2-3 years ago I managed to get from about 84kg to around 64kg on a low fat vegan diet, but since then with a few emotional struggles in the last year or so I have yoyo’d up and down.

    I really like the idea of this diet as it seems to work psychologially, ie. it’s only one day I can do it. Also I’ve found if I’m hungry on the fast day evenings I start thinking about everything I can eat the next day. But then I wake up feeling good from fasting and my stomach feels flatter and I just don’t want to indulge in all the foods I’d been dreaming about!

    I’m finding holding off eating until around lunchtime is working and having a small lunch and dinner. I do have a few cups of tea during the day with a little unsweetened soy milk to stave off hunger pains.

    I’m hoping to be able to lose a good chunk of the weight I want by October as I am planning a holiday around then 🙂

    Hello everyone
    Lots of positive posts and congrats to all those that have lost a nice amount of weight and those who have managed to bring their insulin under control. Well done.
    My husband ( who also has a sweet tooth) has lost around 7kgs in 17 weeks and I’ve lost 9kgs. Slow and steady that’s us.He would probably lose a bit more if he would only stay away from the ‘naughty ‘ cupboard . Over the weeks I’ve purchased a lot less tempting items and just kept things basic.his worse time is around 3pm but, thankfully he drinks a lots of water even on non fast days. We go trough litres of the stuff.
    Good luck to all the newbies on the block

    Have a great weekend.

    Hi Everyone,
    Congratulations on the wonderful stories that have been posted this week. I too have a husband with a sweet tooth, that it have slowly been retraining over the past six months since I started this WOL. He is also fairly trim and can eat anything with no change in his weight, just a couple of kilos between summer and winter. Many of his chocolates have been replaced with nuts, but he is not very keen on salads. He does however like my winter evening meals for fast days and so now we both have steamed fish and green beans with a bit of lime, chilli & parsley, yum, that’s what’s on the menu for tonight. Two days away in the city at a conference meant that yesterday’s fast moved to today. A new colleague travelled with me to the city and we were chatting about where we had come from in life, when he asked how old I was, when I replied 53 he was shocked, exclaiming that he would have thought closer to 43. Just shows what 5:2 can do for us. Best news was that I came home without any gains and was really looking forward to today’s fast. I love our new way of life. 🙂

    Enjoy the weekend everyone.

    Charlie

    Thanks Big Pete for the confirmation this new way of eating (I really do not like the word diet) includes some of us from the other sex. Work + other commitments got in the way of my second week day fast so am doing my first weekend one today. Going to need a bit more self restraint with a full fridge staring at me all day – much easier I think in the work office as if you don’t bring it in, you cannot eat it!!!
    How are you going Robs Girl – done your second fast day yet?? Stick to it (I am only 1 week ahead of you) and lets both see if this 5:2 is a good idea.

    Hi GrahamE, my second fast day is tomorrow (Monday). Recipes for the week all worked out and shopping done. Unfortunately the office I work in is right across the carpark from a lunch bar!! But I am determined to stay strong. I have lost a bit of weight so far even with only one fast day and reining in the kj’s in other meals – I don’t care if it is water weight – if it comes off I only see it as a positive.

    Hi gang
    Very quiet on here today. I’m sitting upstairs (away from the kitchen) trying my darndest to think of anything but food as the long Monday fast heads towards its climax. I don’t think it matters how long you have been doing this, it is still tricky. I’ve been on it a year, very successfully and thrilled with the results, but, as I am retired, the food is very accessible all day. It is only the lovely new skinny clothes that keep me on the straight and narrow.
    Ah well…there is always tomorrow.
    PVE

    Hi, Purple Vegie Eater, I know what you mean. I’ve been on the FD for six months now and it’s been very successful for me, but in the past week I’ve had a bit of a blip and am finding it hard to fast today (mentally). I wonder if winter makes it harder (although we’re having very sunny weather in Sydney, but it gets chilly at night)? I know what you mean about clothes keeping you committed! I just sent off mail order for some new trousers in size 12 – I have the same ones in size 14 but use a belt to keep them up – I’d hate them to arrive and be too tight! Last week was the first time since I’ve started that I gave up on my second fast day – we were going to the theatre that night and rather than schedule back-to-backs to accomodate that, I just gave up.
    Still, I know that this method is so doable that it doesn’t take much to get back into it – you just have to keep steady nerves!
    ‘There’s always tomorrow for eating what I want’, as the mantra goes…
    Best wishes everyone.

    Thanks Peggy
    Yes, I think it is the approach of winter, despite the sunny days, that makes the food sound better. I remember last year I got heavily into making veg soup full of onion and chilli for flavour to stave off the pangs.
    Thanks for the support. The day seems long waiting for our Europe based mates to wake up and sign on!
    BTW, I kept buying smaller clothes, thinking I’d never get smaller, then would find them hanging off me. My husband had the same problem. I now wear size 9 jeans and Small tops. I will not get smaller, but will not allow myself to grow again either. The charity bins did well out of us as we did not want to keep the “comfortable” clothes!
    Cheers
    PVE

    Hello
    Purple Vegie Eater and Peggy.
    I think you are right about it being a bit more difficult in the colder months. This will be our first winter on the FD and I think there have been a few times when MM might have given it away especially around 3pm but, hopefully we can stick with it. No difference in weight this week but, that’s the way it goes.
    Being retired as well makes it more challenging but, keeping busy helps.

    Off to get the Curried Carrot soup ready for dinner. Very tasty!!!
    Have a good week everybody.

    Mm Deerhunter. The curry sounded good. We had 50g of lean chicken each, onions, garlic, fennel, carrot, zucchini, snowpeas, oregano, thyme, rosemary and shiritaki noodles with a little pasata stirred in. Filling, tasty and low cal.
    I kept the faith and this morning hit a new PB of 59.4kg. It has taken ages to lose this last .5. Lost the first 10kg in 10 weeks, then slowed a bit. Lost 22kg by 6 months, then have slowly crept another 3kg over 3 months. Now, at last another .5.
    It is amazing how little food you need to sustain yourself at my current weight and advanced age (60s) so it is vital to only choose healthy foods every day. I intend to lead a healthy active life (with still a hint of hedonism).
    Happy fasting,
    PVE

    Hi PVE
    You certainly have done well. I’m 63 and started the FD at 87kgs. Now down to 78.5 this week. I’ve still a long way to go but Id like to get to at least under 70 kgs. I realise it will take a while as it took a long time to gain that weight. My ideal weight when I was in my 40s was around 65-67 kgs. I would really love to get down to that but, just one goal at a time. I do try and eat healthy on the non fasting days and I think that with the exercise I do most days does help.
    That last few kgs are always the hardest to lose. Reading your posts does encourage me to not give up.

    Yes. The curried carrot soup was yummy . Even had 2 bowls as it’s only 85 cals a serve. Your dinner sounded good too.
    Lots of good recipes out there for sure.
    Have a good week and good luck with that last .5.
    Cheers

    Hi all,
    I agree that the cold weather has me hovering around the kitchen. Yesterday I made my first soup for this winter – beef and veg. Super filling and very yummy. I think my soup repertoire will expand in the coming months!
    I am keen to keep going with 5:2 as I am the lightest I’ve been in years and can see myself finally reaching my healthy weight range.

    I’m inspired, PVE. but I’ve found the fasting sure gets easier the longer you’ve done it for. I’m in my fifth month now. 10 kilos down and LOTS more to go!

    GrahamE, although I’m home most of the time too, I tend to stay out of the kitchen/dining area so I’m not exposed to the temptations of fridge and pantry. The lounge, study, shed and garden have no food unless I bring it there! That takes a conscious decision on my part to do something unhealthy.

    I’ve found that a lot of the time I just think I’m hungry, out of habit. Keeping a bottle of water handy helps, as my doctor says that often when we think we’re hungry, a drink of water will stop the false “hunger”. Also, chewing gum seems to fix the mouth’s desire to be doing something. Who knows, it probably uses up some calories too – I guess every one helps!

    For fast days I’ve found I can now exist comfortably on just a bowl of cereal with soy milk for breakfast, fill up on water during the day, and just have a small can of tuna at teatime. Amazingly, I don’t feel famished the next morning. I guess my body has adjusted to this new routine. I tend to have my fast days on days when my wife and daughter will be out for dinner.

    I’m now fitting into XXL shirts, and the 112 jeans I bought two months ago are loose. Weight seems to have stayed much the same, but my body seems to be reshaping itself. Interesting.

    Yes the re-shaping is interesting. I have only lost 10kg but I started from a relatively low base so I’ve lost about 13% of my body weight. When I saw my sister for the first time in 3 months (in which time I’d lost the second 5kg)she exclaimed aloud about how different I looked – that my face was bonier, my chest much smaller etc. I had a weight plateau of about five weeks yet my body continued to shrink in that time.
    People have been noticing my weight loss since about my third week into the FD. On the other hand, a friend of mine has been doing it since New Year and has now lost about 8kg and not a single person commented for the first three months. Now only 1-2 people have noticed. I think it’s because she tends to wear baggy clothes around her middle – that’s where all her weight was, but most people didn’t realise she was overweight as she hid it well and has slender legs, now they don’t notice she’s losing it.

    Yes, Big Pete. I do similar coping mechanisms. Over the year I have been on FD I have learnt to avoid the kitchen, keep busy, drink water. I also have veg soup or low cal home made lentil dishes in 100 cal portions frozen. If I am desperate it is a quick 2 minutes in the microwave. I usually travel with an apple and a bottle of water to stop temptation.
    Like many women, I find it much easier to put off eating anything as long as I can, so I don’t eat until at least 12, often later. That way dinner time is closer. My husband only eats at dinner now. And then only 200cal meals. I find if I eat I find it harder not to keep eating. If I just get busy and drink black coffee, tea or water I usually cruise along.
    Even though I am really used to it, there are still days when I struggle. Maybe because I have basically reached my goal (over 25kg off).
    Off to lunch with my daughter today. This is the reward for being a good girl yesterday!
    Happy fasting,
    PVE

    I have completed my first week on the FD and I have lost 1.4Kg, I think that is extremely good for me! I am so proud of myself that I could go through the two fasting days with little food – but oh so many cups of green tea! I know now that I can do this with relative ease so I hope the results keep on coming.

    Well done Robs girl. That is fantastic.
    Make a graph to record your success and make it with big spacing so the line drops quickly.
    Keep it up (or down 😉
    PVE

    Congratulations – not for the weight loss as much as for the discovery that you can do it – and it works! I still get the feeling of almost magic when my scales have shown a drop, like today, because the fasting is so effortless. I particularly loved my fast day yesterday, after a week or so of feeling a bit manic with my eating and feelings about food (and other things in my life, of course). Then suddenly at the start of the day, I felt very calm and really appreciated not having to think about food (except for looking forward to beetroot boiled in Apple cider vinegar as part of my evening meal – I have a craving for beetroot at the moment!) Last week I’d gone up 400g, having bombed out of my second fast, this week I dropped 500, so I’m on the downward trajectory again, slowly, as I’m nearing my goal (3.5kg to go). I’ve been doing this six months now and it’s a constant work in progress but I love that fasting is such a calming device.

    Good morning everyone

    Our northern and western hemisphere cousins are still snoozing but it’s all go in the antipodes.

    Congratulations on all the weight losses, especially those who are nearing their goal.

    I still have a long way to go but happy to report successful B2B Monday and Tuesday during a fairly manic work week resulted in 0.6kg less on the scales.

    It was cold and rainy yesterday so I made bread for lunch ….. 🙁

    Never mind, that’s the beauty of IF so today light-moderate eating and fasting tomorrow and Tuesday.

    Have a good week everyone!

    Into the final week of my first month and very happy with results to date – kilos off and one belt hole in – plus just looking thinner (or should I say, less fat??)

    Its been great to hear from you all over the last weeks – been a real inspiration and made it much easier to tackle those long afternoons when the rumbles come on. Still, the thought of regaining a more fit me and fitting into long stored away shirts and trousers makes it all worth while.

    Today my wife Ruth had her first fast day after seeing what 5:2 has done for me. Should be an interesting journey with us having separate fast days but that will be part of the rich tapestry of life!

    Still working through my eating on non-fast days – think I am wanting to make up for last meals but a bit of trial and error will resolve this I am sure.

    GrahamE
    My husband and I are both 5:2ers but find it much easier to fast on the same days unless we are apart. Even smelling someone cooking toast in the morning can rock you off the boat.
    As to eating on non-fast days… until you reach your goal (we both did in a year) it is best to really consider what you eat on other days too. I found we learnt to cut right down on carbs and fats and massively increased our veg component in all meals. We look at food very differently and try to pep up the flavour with low cal ideas (see the Fast Diet Recipe books)
    I lost 26kg, my husband 30 kg, but we are both very aware that in our 60s we have to constantly monitor it for life.
    Good luck to the two of you.
    PVE

    Hi haven’t been on for a while, I totally agree with purplevege, I have been doing fast days with no loss..in fact I’ve gained!! very depressing, almost hitting the same weight as I was straight after having my son…19 years ago …I think my nonfast days have been the problem, I will go with the lower carb, lower fat options from now on… must focus, focus, focus….thanks for the reminder PVE 🙂

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