Hi all,
I fell off the wagon. I never thought I would do it as I found the first 7 weeks fantastic. I lost 7 kilos and was so determined and dedicated. Then I went on holiday. I had a week and half off and didn’t worry too much because I was starting again when I got back. I have done fast days since returning but I would call them very Laxed. I have had a wine or a coffee and convinced myself I will be back into it properly next week. That started 5 weeks ago…
Luckily I have only gained back 2kg.
Any suggestions for getting the focus back are fully welcome and appreciated. Starting coming back on this site is a help and I think I just need to bite the bullet and get strict with myself.
Amy

Hi PVE,
I can see how you achieved such wonderful weight loss with both of you doing it together. My hubby doesn’t carry excess baggage and so I cook food for his lunches each weekend and again through the week when he runs out of snacks. Most times I am OK but the colder weather is testing me.
I am now doing better since I started using my fitness pal, but I have also cut my ordinary intake to 5000Kj and around 1500Kj on fast days.
Enjoy the rest of the week everyone, and for those who get it, the long weekend. My cows don’t know one day from the next, and weekends are the same as any other day.
Charlie

Hi Simcoeluv,

thanks very much, i think I will source my carbs from veges on non fast days and keep the fats ‘natural’ avo’s, oily fish etc, small amounts of cheese etc for satiety, obviously I will keep to 500 on fast days with my normal veges and soup etc, but think I have to review my non fast days more intently..
I will watch video soon… cheers for your help xx

Hi tweety,

If it works, just keep doing it. When I started out I had fruit for both breakfast and lunch and salad for tea. That was over six months ago, now I have my coffee in the morning, and some days if the worms are biting an apple for lunch, then salad plus some protein for dinner.

It comes down to what works for each individual. Even on non fast days I often only have my coffee in the morning, and that is instant, with a little low fat milk.

Keep up your good work. 🙂

Charlie

Hi Amy12,
Every fast day is a new beginning. I like to think of it as pressing the reset button. Start with one fast day. Then the next, and before you know it you’ll be back into you 5:2 routine.

Way to go Bayleafoz!!!!

Thanks, MM. This blog site is sooo positive.

Hi everyone, I am also below the lapband, and new to this site. I had my first fast day yesterday, and did not miss the food at all. I began my fast at 6pm, last night; and broke the fast at 1.30pm today. I think I will wait until next week to weigh & measure again.

Hey Bayleafoz
Your ideas sound like me!)
The most surprising thing my husband and I both found was having to replace our clothes SEVERAL times. Just when we thought we were small (size 12 for me) down it went again. I currently wear size 9 jeans. Whoohoo.
We have also just been on several holidays, including a winery one. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, ate great food and gained only 1 kg. Fasted yesterday and am back down again. I think the habit allows you to consider more carefully your food choices and seriously shun those fatty carbs (eg pub meals with masses of chips) as you genuinely lose a taste for them.
I often choose the vegetarian option as they are usually lower in fats.
As Michael Moseley said “lean protein and plants” is the way to go.
Some hints: a small egg omolette with a thin slice of ham, tomato of mushroom for breakfast (no oil) or 20g real oats with a handful of blueberries (fresh or frozen) no milk. Have some shop bought felafels or vegie patties in the fridge (read the kJs on them go for low ones) and have a couple with a lettuce leaf, a Tom Thumb tomato and even a dob of hummus for lunch or when desparate. Leafy greens and lean fish for dinner with lots of flavour (chilli, ginger, onion, shallots) Avoid all alcohol, fats, sugars and carbs on fast days. Try to go as long as possible between eating.
I tend to eat as late as I can as once I eat, it is harder to abstain. I save most cals until dinner to make it easier to sleep (human brains think a lot when they are hungry).
In cold weather homemade vege soup or green steamed stir “fry” with Shiritaki (sold as Simply noddles in Coles) are very filling with fish. We are currently also adding a tbs of pasata for fun. Make sure you read the cal count on it or make your own. Drink soda water with dinner to have a bit of a pep. It is important to treat yourself with flavour to not feel deprived.
Seriously avoid snacking…your hunger will pass if you just go off and have a drink of water or black tea or coffee and do something else.
Good luck all
PVE

Hi all,

I’ve put on 1kg over the past two weeks, doing 3 fast days in that time. (We have house guests this week so only managed one fast.)
For those who don’t know me, I started last November with a BMI of 26, lost 5kg in 5 weeks and then very slowly (with one long plateau) edged down, losing 10.5kg by mid-May and getting to BMI 22.7.
From this point I’ve been struggling a bit – onset of cold weather makes it harder, plus one part of me feels like I’ve made it and why keep going? But I do want to keep going, precisely because it’s so easy to put weight back on! Thinking over what’s caused me to put on weight, I’ve been having quite a few days where I eat full-fat [but no added sugar] yoghurt with fruit for either breakfast or dessert and eating more than usual amounts of bread. Even after six months of this, I still have that psychological tendency the night before a fast day to stuff myself in anticipation of deprivation! (I would have made a good cavewoman.)
Anyway, time to stay calm and keep on fasting…

Hi PVE, thanks for the advice. I have read a couple of the books and own one. I like to have some of the books with me.

My problem with the regime is my hubby, he likes to make 3 meals a day, so I have to convince him that I don’t need that much food – but he seems to be listening this time

Hi Robs girl

Yes, so easy to slip back if focus is diverted.

I restarted 5:2 seriously when I went back to work after a month’s leave at the end of January and had put on nearly all I had lost in the last 1/4 of 2013 🙁

Things went well until Easter and my birthday when I seriously fell off the wagon but refocussed, returned to keeping a food diary for a few weeks for my non-FDs and now have seen steady weight loss and am nearly back to my pre-Christmas low. Still long way to go as weight loss seems to be slow among ladies of a certain age but progress is progress and I’m hoping that my saggy old skin will keep up. My bingo wings, as well as hips and waist, are less than previously.

Stress is a great ‘undoer’ in all of us because sugar and fat are rapid reducers of cortisol but it’s important for our own good that we find alternatives to our automatic reaching for the Tim Tams, Scotch Fingers or whatever is our preferred stress reliever.

It’s also important to keep in mind that this is a Way of Living, as you say, and the wagon is always waiting for us to get back on, so don’t be too hard on yourself. The sun will still rise tomorrow.

Nicky xxx

Hi all the Southern Hemisphereites who are enjoying a public holiday today. Probably not a good day to fast…put it off until tomorrow, but keep the holiday food healthy.
Cheers PVE

Hello all, I have just finished my second fast day, but it was my first full day fast. Have weighed & measured, and lost …………. 3cm from my waist, and 1 kg, so am back under the 100kg mark – whew …… I haven’t hit that high in over 3 years, so was very upset the day I sw that weight, so glad I am under it again. My next goal is to be under 90kg, so that I can begin to fit back into the majority of my clothes again. Thanks for this forum, it helps for me to share things with someone.

G’day Graham.

The sailing sounds wonderful. I live by the sea, and these sunny and windy days are such a treat.

Try to leave tomorrow to the future and stay with today. Instead of being concerned about a non-fast day, make a few decisions about how you’ll behave from now on. For instance, when the drinking gets going, go prepared to have one glass of soda for every beer. I cart soda with me to lots of things, buy it when I’m at a pub. I bought a soda stream so I never drink it flat… at home that is.

The other thing is not to worry about over-eating. If you recall on the TV program, Michael spoke to some researcher gal (can’t recall her name) who said that her team has shown that fasting works even if people eat up to 140% of normal the day after fasting. Research also shows that most people just eat about 110% of normal amount! Just learn to let the full feeling speak to you AND stop then.

I went through that show twice or more, and made notes so that I could see the progression of Michael’s investigation. It all makes such a lot of sense.

Cheers,
Ros.

Hi all! I’ve been away a week and the site’s gone wild with exciting chatter! So great to hear everyone’s getting into the swing of 5:2.
I just had the most fantastic week on Lord Howe island and chose not to do any fasting while I was there. I didn’t mind not fasting as there was so much walking, cycling and snorkelling that I did, that I’m sure at I made up for any excess calories I know I consumed.
If any of you want to come and see the most pristine, friendly and spectacularly beautiful place on the planet, come and see this gem! It’s totally worth it! And the lagoon reefs are the most rich, healthy and diverse I’ve ever seen, also the world’s most southern reefs.
Getting on the scales this morning, it looks like I didn’t stack on any extra weight, even while eating too many carbs, sugar and fried foods whilst on the island. So getting back into the saddle, and looking forward to fasting today and Thursday.
Cheers!

Thanks ESSki. I reckon your goal is certainly do-able, and it’s good to notice what other changes happen along the way as well.
Go for it.
Ros.

Hi everybody
It’s been a while since I’ve posted on this ‘Southern’ group but I have enjoyed reading all your posts.
Lord Howe sounds like a great place and it’s on my ‘bucket’ list . Haven’t been able to make any firm plans as my husband is still working, albeit part time. Hopefully next year we’ll have more time.

We’re into our 21st week on the 5.2. And although today is a public hol we decided to still do a fast day. Or I should say I’ve decided. Given a choice my husband wouldn’t have worried but I’m trying to be a good motivator ( that’s not what MM says!!!!). He reckons it’s just me being a pushy female!!!!. Ah well that’s life!!

Although in the early weeks we saw the kilos go down we’ve sort of come to that so called ‘plateau’. In fact both of us have seen a slight increase some weeks even though we are trying to be reasonably carefully on non- fast days. The really good thing is that we are both fitting into our clothes better and our shapes are definitely changing. It’s good to see my waist come back after many a year in hibernation. Blood pressure is pretty good not sure about the cholesterol yet as I haven’t had a test since being on 5.2.. Generally we both feel better for this WOE and hope we can one day just be on a maintenance routine. I think we’ve got a long way to go yet., but we’re still hopeful. They do say it will take some time so will try and remain upbeat.
Doing treadmill work at least 5 days a week when possible and the FIT. Feel much better for it all.

The weather here ( Gosford ) is very cold and wet at present , a good day to watch a movie.
Interesting, about the eating extra calories on non- fast days. Maybe there’s something in that!!!!!

Congrats to all those that have lost weight and those that have reached their goals.

Have a good hol Monday and have a good week.
Cheers
Deerhunter

Well done all. So positive and obviously getting your heads around this lifestyle. I actually love the challenge of learning new recipes that are brilliantly tasty and low cal. (Try a version of zucchini slice with grated beetroot and zucchini…delicious!) So many vegetables and so much you can do with them.
My husband looked very disappointed when I suggested 5:2ing on a public holiday. I gave in. Tomorrow is the day, backed up with Thursday. Two days when I am out of the house and busy…much easier!
Keep up the good work (despite the cooling weather) we folks at the right end of the earth can do it!!!
PVE 🙂

Hi everyone,
I’m fasting today as usual despite the holiday. I started off with a brisk walk with a neighbour and we were scooting along in the cold breeze at a good pace of 9:35mins per km when my tablet lost the satellite just after we turned back for home at 3km. It’s flat land here so the weather has a lot of impact, we’re a lot slower in the heat of summer.
RosC – I’ve been watching The Men Who Made us Fat, very interesting and worrying – the power Big Food has over governments. Remember back in February a new healthy food rating website was launched for a nano second, them removed…. I wonder whether the Department of Health will ever get the website launched.
I only started looking for sugar content of food and drinks after my Dr. told me I was pre diabetic and I had to “cut out sugar” for two months – that was nearly two years ago. I went shopping with a magnifying glass plus light so I could read the labels – the hardest to read are black printing on purple labels. I was amazed to find sugar in unexpected items like tuna. We had a great crop of home grown corn but it finally ran out and had frozen corn last night, it was much sweeter than fresh corn and sure enough there was 7.5g sugar per 100g serving.
So now tonight I’m looking forward to little bit of chicken with lots of green veggies, definitely no sweetcorn.

Hi PVE,

I read your post just now, and am intrigued with the altered zuke slice – will do some looking around the recipe books. It would be possible to record it MyFitnessPal and work out the calories per serve, maybe make adjustments.

I wanted to respond to your comment that your husband didn’t want to fast on a Public Holiday and that got me thinking… Now, I don’t know what your activities were for the holiday of course, but it prompted a general question in my mind – isn’t it interesting how we tend to see food as part of relaxation? Eating at sports events is part of the deal. Having special food or beverage planned for a holiday even if it’s “just us”. Sitting at the desk with tea and a McVitie’s.

I realise I consciously made a decision to have the usual fast day yesterday. Had a visitor for dinner – steak and vegies done in a pan and fresh asparagus. My vegies were barbecued on a BBQ plate and I had 100g of steak. Easy! My point is, that I needed to make the decision and say to myself, “Well, in this instance, it doesn’t matter”. The hard part was leaving the wine to the others however, there is some left for today. That’s the good part about this system – I’m not deprived forever!

Cheers,
Ros.

Hi all, I’m another one who did fast on the public holiday yesterday and I feel so good for it. As you’ll recall, I only did one fast last week and had put on weight at my weekly weigh-in, so I was psychologically keen to get back into the fasting routine. I found it very easy. I spent most of the rainy day at home reading and didn’t find it at all difficult to not eat, even when I made lucnh for my kids. In fact we went to an evening movie and didn’t have dinner till 9.30pm and that was fine.
One thing I found interesting was that I felt very empty (in a good way) towards the end of the day, much more so than when I fast at work. It’s funny all the tricks your mind/body can play on you.

Hi Everyone,
Great to see so much activity on this site. Just an update on having reached another small goal, today after a normal fast yesterday my weigh in showed that I now have discarded 20 kg since the 12th of November 2013. I am so loving this WOL, 🙂
On the farm over the weekend we split our cows into their joining mobs and put bulls out, and one mob to be artificially inseminated (AI).
We still have lots of grass here, but the frosts over the weekend will slow the growth right down.
At the blood bank today one of the nurses was telling me about a healthy chocolate that you can make yourself, made with coconut oil.
Does anyone else know whether it is good or bad for us? I made some tonight, it is very very rich so you only eat one piece, but it does not leave you craving for more as there is no sugar in it, just honey. Looking on the web coconut oil seems to have mixed reviews.
Enjoy the week everyone, onwards and downwards. IHAW, thanks for the info on Lord Howe, someday I may get there, just need better returns for the hours we do on the farm. Looking forward to the documentary this week on the diet industry, not that we diet, we are on a different lifestyle to the masses.
Charlie

Hi Charlie and Violet,
good to hear that you’re getting such wonderful results Charlie! Twenty kilos is a lot! What I love about this woe is that we are the one’s in control, not some diet company telling us what to do.

I’m also waiting to see the doco about the ‘men who made us thin’ as the other one recently aired called ‘the men who made us fat’ which was truly scary….and the terrible thing was that the whole planet has just gone along mindlessly with whatever these large food corporations demanded. Even our own government is at the beck and call of these same powerful organisations, and backs out of standing up and regulating this industry, which in turn is leading to the terrible health outcomes for our population – ( increased rates of cancer, diabetes and cardio-vascular disease )

In the mean time, I have to admit that being aware and focused on what I’m actually sticking in my mouth, on 5:2 is a POWERFUL and ENLIGHTENING act of self preservation and awareness!

Charlie, the coconut chocolate sounds intriguing, I might look it up. And Violet, chickpeas are the basis of many wonderful dishes, but my favourite is hummus. I love making hummus, which is so much nicer than the supermarket ones, which skimp on the lemon juice and garlic making them pretty tasteless. I also like to add in some sun-dried tomatoes or chilli to give it a little twist.

Chickpeas can also be added whole and cooked, into a salad or casserole/stew/targine/soup for extra protein and texture. If you want to watch another interesting doco, look up ‘make hummus, not war’, it travels the Middle East looking at all the regional variations of hummus, and the strange fact that although all sides seem to be unable to live in peace, they all love hummus.

Keep up the excellent work everyone, you really make my day by sharing your journey to better health!
Cheers.

Hi Violet May,
Nice to have another rural woman here. What breed of cows are yours? Yes it is much easier chasing them around. I sure have a very proud hubby, he is soo impressed with my new energy levels, and how well I am coping with him working off farm full time, which he started the day I started this way of life.
Have a good week everyone,
Cheers, Charlie.