CalifD, mobile phones have added a whole new dimension to parenting and keeping children more safe. I think your dad was right not to allow hitching in the USA. I don’t know if I’m generalising about a greater danger but I would never have considered hitching in America.

CalifD and LJ. It’s nice to read that your parents were so protective, although probably irritating to you both at the time. I had no-one worrying about me but I was also a very mature and independent 17 year old.

LJ, I can’t take the credit for naked dancing. I think Merry started that conversation.

Carrot iuice! Thanks for putting me out of my misery, CalifD.

So much for my CD yesterday. I thought I’d been careful but not careful enough apparently. A good walk might help. Celebrating DD’s birthday this week so I need to be extra vigilant. Why is this so hard? I just want to lose a kilo!

Cinque, I didn’t see your post earlier. Mandarin jelly! I forgot to say that I picked up lots of hitch-hikers later in life too but, I admit, only those with a backpack. Sweeping generalisations!

Cinque, thanks again for the Nigerian stew recipe, I’ve posted a longer piece about it on the legume thread. It’s made and ready for my dinner.
MM’s ‘The Truth About Sleep’ was on channel 9 – not sure if it was planned or just slotted in because some sport finished early. I usually check the online guide so I can set my HDD to record any programs I don’t want to miss and I didn’t notice this in the schedule. At the end of the program MM had a discussion about the prebiotic and concluded that having prebiotic foods such as lentils, chickpeas and beans should have the same effect. I use the inulin powder that Minka recommended – it’s basically powdered jerusalem artichoke, but there are also some available that are made from legumes. My sleep patterns are much better than they were a year ago but I had put that down to HRT and the lack of night sweats. Now I’m wondering if the inulin has an impact too as I also used to wake often through the night and that’s quite rare these days.

Intesha, you aren’t the only one with an issue about throwing food away. I have the same problem and think Thin mentioned she does too. Hence the overflowing freezer. Interestingly I have found that I can happily give it away even if putting it in the bin is beyond my power. Find it good home to go to – I can always find good homes for anything home baked.

GDSA, good luck with the assignment – not a great way to have to spend time off work. Hope your daughter has plenty of holiday activities to keep her occupied.

JJulie I hope you get through your FD, some are tougher than others. You can always settle for a very early dinner – on occasion I’ve eaten dinner at 4pm on a FD because I can’t stop thinking about food. It’s the only thing that seems to settle me down.

Cali, I can hear the cockatoos screeching in my walnut tree. It made me think of you.

I was hungrier than usual this morning and only made it to 11am before my usual lunchtime kefir fruit smoothie started calling to me. I think it’s because I’ve been doing alternate day fasts since last Wednesday. After tomorrow’s FD I should be able to go back to a more reasonable routine.

OK, I’m confused. Last night I watched an MM program that said eating legumes had the same effect as taking a prebiotic. I’m watching a rerun of another MM program tonight (Trust me I’m a Doctor). They said that inulin, which is a prebiotic is found in asparagus, jerusalem artichokes, onions, leeks and garlic – no mention of legumes.
On the plus side, they tested high inulin vegetables against kefir and yoghurt to find out which had the biggest positive impact on gut bugs – the kefir won.

Finished my third fast day yesterday. I am finding that i have heaps of energy on fast days but I am exhausted on NFDs. Also does anyone else have breakfast lunch and dinner on fast days? Still up to 500 calories range of course. I guess I will just keep having 3 meals for now and if it stops working change it down to 2. Breakfast is my peace time. I get up at 5.30-6 am just to have the time to myself and eat a leisurely breakfast and coffee. Calorie wise I only have 55 calories on fast days. Make up 2 tablespoons of oat bran with a cup of water so it makes heaps too 🙂

What an excellent fast day you had Minka. You had better have scans more often! I hope you found something nice and fasty to eat that gave you a good sleep.

LJoyce I found the MM Sleep program on my smart TV but Channel 9 wanted so much info from me before they would let me log in, that I gave up. I did watch the other one, TMIAD (I am completely in love with the Van Tulleken twins at the moment so enjoyed seeing Dr Chris on it!). I had seen it before and the gut stuff was my main interest (even though Dr Chris didn’t do that one 😉 ), good to see it again. Yes, I noticed they didn’t mention legumes. I guess the knowledge is growing so fast they can’t keep up. I wonder which was made first. Will research. I liked noting the difference in fermented products between home made and store bought. Must make kimchi this summer!

I am so glad the stew was successful! Yes, it is an excellent sauce that can be used in other ways. Last time I made it I added sweet potato as well as beans, but I think I prefer it plain and then to eat it with veggies along side. Not that the sweet potato wasn’t excellent! I think it is plate aesthetic, I love the look of, say, baked sweet potato, a serve of the bean stew, and a green salad. Perfect!

Arelkade, congratulations for getting your food tracking sorted. It is such a sad fact, isn’t it, that all those extra kilos are so keen to creep back on. 5:2 and constant vigilance.
Thanks for your good wishes, although I am just about off the ‘not feeling well’ list today. Hooray!

JJulie, I do hope you have woken up feeling wonderful after a good fast day! I know those trips to the fridge and then oops, I’m not eating today! Did you make it to your evening meal?

Thin, I’m so sorry you are having such a hard time at the moment. These things tend to go in waves, so I hope you have one of those whooshes soon and can get your confidence back. I guess it is just a matter of keeping on keeping on until that happens. It will!

You too LJoyce if you are in the same boat with those ADFs.

It is such a lovely morning here, and I have a big day. The haircut! And meeting a friend either side. Coffee with the first one, and introducing licorice tea to the second one!

Hoping your day is a good one.

Good morning,

Cinque, yes I made it to the evening meal no problem. I did have a few miso soups to keep me going though. I woke up really early this morning which is a good sign. I am not going to do a FD today although I do like B2B FDs but today is the last day our Japanese daughter is with us so we are having a nice dinner together.
I will fast again tomorrow as OH is flying out also and 18YO will be working until 9pm. Now that all the visitors have left i can get back to a routine and be on track for more weight loss.

Catch up again soon.

CalifD, I’m the same, although I like breakfast foods, I don’t like eating at breakfast time. Coffee keeps me going. I’m currently enjoying a Kenyan bean that OH bought me for Christmas.

Jane, my FDs are similar to CalifD’s, a 2pm light soup and then a ‘dinner’ at 5pm. When I started this WOL in 2014, my OH was fasting with me for support. He eats by the clock so I put a lot of effort into devising three ‘meals’ a day for us for the first 11 months so he wouldn’t panic. I made spreadsheets with FD meals for one month ahead and accumulated several of these that I could mix and match and it would tot up the cals for us (500 or 600). I remember we had 30gms oats for breakfast, mixed with water, then mixed with more water – until it swelled so large that OH almost thought he was having a normal breakfast. I think he got half a tsp of honey in his too.

Nowadays, I find it easier to go without food until later in the day – less calories to count and I also noticed that, once I start eating, it awakens what we call the hunger dragon. But whatever works for you is what works so keep doing what you’re doing.

I like those twins too, Cinque. And I’m a big fan of Dr M. of course; he changed my life. But I don’t find TMIAD particularly good viewing. It’s just infotainment IMHO. A study of ten is no study at all and proves nothing, not even a trend.

Have a lovely day getting your haircut and drinking liquorice tea with friends, Cinque. We have a forecast of 35C and OH thinks it’s cool because he’s been in Paraburdoo for 12 days where it’s been in the 40s every day. Luckily he likes the heat. But I do agree with you LJ, the heat isn’t bothering me as much as when I was fat.

Glad your FD went well JJulie.

Have a great day everyone.

Good morning SHs,

Cali, glad you also like the Nigerian stew, Cinque gets a gold star for that one.
What surprised me was that several components of the recipe were counter-intuitive for me – like adding lemon juice to a tomato sauce. I was convinced it would be too acidic so I added it slowly – but it tasted better! I still don’t know how that worked. I’d also not thought of using nut butters as a sauce thickener – despite the fact that I regularly make a veg stirfry with satay sauce on FDs and I add the sauce ingredients directly to the pan and watch while the peanut butter thickens all of the juices that the veg has released while cooking. Sometimes I look but I don’t actually see.

JJulie, glad you made it through your FD OK. I think a few of us are still tying to get our comfortable 5:2 rhythm going again after christmas. I’m not quite back into mine yet either.

Cinque, I’m glad you enjoyed the twin eye candy in TMIAD even if the science was a bit lacking.

JaneJ, I experimented with what I ate on FDs, when I ate and how frequently I fasted in the first few weeks. I eventually decided that it was easier if I only scheduled food for times of day when I was really hungry – for me that’s late afternoon and evening, I’m rarely hungry in the mornings. When I eat on a FD has gradually changed over time. My normal approach is to allocate calories to milk so that I can have cups of tea when I want them throughout the day and delay food for as long as possible. Initially I ate a small lunch and a larger dinner (mostly veg). Then I dropped lunch and it became an afternoon snack of fruit or veg or soup and then dinner. Now I just have the cups of tea and dinner on most FDs. In part I think it takes time to learn not to be afraid of hunger. It also took me a while to realise that just because it was a meal time it didn’t mean I had to eat.
I would add a note of caution as I am not an early riser and I’m retired. If I was up at 5am and trying to put in a day at work I don’t know whether my food pattern on a FD would work. You need to find a pattern that suits you, your circumstances and your hunger patterns. I do believe that it’s wise to not eat when you are not hungry – especially on a FD when you don’t have the spare calories to accommodate that.

Arelkade, I’m a great believer in recording behaviour, whether it’s a food diary or my budget spending. It’s the small things that we don’t notice until it’s all written down in front us.

I am doing another FD today as I have lunch at an Italian cafe tomorrow – food I love but I find it difficult to make good choices.
I’m hoping this is the last of the alternate FDs, it’s not a comfortable rhythm for me, but I have been eating too much on NFDs so adding a third FD most weeks has seemed necessary. Unfortunately it becomes a bit of a cycle were the frequency of FDs seems to contribute to my bad behaviour on NFDs.

Welcome ICU812, Sam. Wow, a total knee replacement in 9 days! I bet you’ll lose some weight on the 5:2 before then. If you’ve been eating a lot prior to starting, you might lose several pounds the first week. Anything you lose will be that much less weight that you have to worry about during knee rehab. You’re doing the right thing.

There are lots of good ideas on these forum threads. And having people to discuss the eating plan makes it so much easier. I hope you end up liking this this way of eating and losing weight as I do.

I’m making a big batch of the Nigerian Stew again tonight, to eat tomorrow and later in the week. This time I’m doing it with less measuring, now that I know how it’s supposed to turn out. I hope I get it right. I’m doing it in the Instant Pot and adding the tomato purée and peanut butter toward the end.

Alert, alert, alert…

Angela Rippon’s “How to Stay Young” is airing tonight! This is the program that inspired me test my body composition and start taking the 30 grams of ‘Inulin Powder’ per day that I’ve been experimenting with for the past 7 months.

The show airs on the ABC Australia at 8 pm Eastern Standard Time (Tuesday 6 January). I really enjoyed it when I watched it. Angela Rippon is both candid and humorous and to me delivered content as powerful as Dr. M.

It’s time to make dinner, will post my experiment results a bit later!

Congratulations Minka, impressive results.

Welcome ICU, although I note that you have been on the forum for 20 months already. Or, perhaps you were here and left. Anyway, good luck with your efforts this time around. And with the TKR.

The Nigerian stew recipe has come up before I think. Or was it another African country’s stew, Cinque? Where can it be found please? Is it on our recipe page or under legumes, etc?

LJ, you raise a good point. I, too, quite enjoy the feeling of being hungry. It reminds me why I’m doing this and the good I’m doing for my body. There’s also a good feeling generated by the discipline required in not eating just because it’s a ‘meal time’.

Thin, I thought you were one of the group who tried the Nigerian Stew, but I guess not. The big batch I made last night with only a rough idea of measurements turned out well (as far as I can tell from tiny tastes with an espresso sized spoon – it was a FD) except that I probably added more peanut butter than I should have. The smaller first batch didn’t have a distinct peanut flavor, it was more subtle. That said, from the tiny tastes, it does taste good overall. I’m planning to have it for lunch.

Minka, congrats on your test results! It sounds like you’re doing everything right. Can’t argue with success!

I just started reading more about inulin and bought a small (180 gram) container yesterday. The label says to use 3 grams per day to start. I did that last night, and given the much larger amounts Minka and LJoyce are taking, I added another 3 grams to my coffee this morning. Who else here is using it? How much do you use? One thought is that because it it said to absorb moisture, could it have a temporary effect on weight? I guess that’s pretty much the same with any fiber.

When mentioning that “espresso” or tiny spoon above, I thought of a question: What size is a cup of coffee for you? I use a fairly large cup which is about 295 ml. But when I was in France or Italy, and as I recall, the Netherlands, a cup of coffee meant a small cup, maybe about 85 ml, of very strong coffee compared to what we drink here. It would be what we refer to as espresso. What size is a cup of coffee where you are?

Hi Sam!
Welcome here,
My sympathy for being on medication that causes weight gain. It is just not fair.
Good luck with 4:3. How did you go yesterday?
I do hope it went well and you have woken up this morning with that wonderful empty ‘day after a fast day’ feeling. It is my favourite.
If 4:3 is difficult you can always rein it back to 5:2 which is easier and will still be effective.

JJulie, nice to think of you having some peace, after the fun of visitors, and being able to do all the good things.

Cali wasn’t that weather extreme. I was reading about frozen lizards falling out of trees in the US while fruit bat colonies died here because they got so hot their blood boiled.
I’ve been very grateful for Melbourne’s lovely weather the last few days, but we need rain too!

LJoyce are your Alternate Day Fasts over? It will be nice to look at a few days of normal eating.

It is day-before-fast-day for me, and after my big day yesterday, I am ready to have another big day today, but more domestic with some meal planning and shopping and maybe dealing with everything on my desk, because there is a mountain there, AGAIN! Oh yes, and watering the garden, at least I can do that now. I want to be ORGANISED.

And luckily I have two taped episodes of Operation Ouch to watch when I need a rest! 😉

Best wishes to everyone, I hope you have a good day of caring for yourself!

LJoyce, Operation Ouch is a show aimed at primary school kids. It is on ABC23 at 4:26 each day (followed by the fabulous ‘LIttle Lunch’) and a couple of series are also on iview. I was so glad to find them when I was first home from hospital, just the thing to enjoy! (They are on tour in Australia at the moment!)
OMG just looked at the link for their shows http://www.operationouchliveonstage.com/ and they have a special one on in Melbourne for adults on “How To Live Better Longer”. I’m very tempted!

Here’s the recipe, Thin

RECIPE: NIGERIAN RED KIDNEY BEAN STEW
(thanks Madhur Jaffrey)

1 cup of red kidney beans, soaked and cooked OR two tins of red kidney beans (drained and rinsed).
(If you cook your own beans, keep half a cup of the bean liquid to mix with the peanut butter)
3tbsp (or less) olive oil: heat in a large pan
Add
1 big onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic chopped
Stir and fry gently until the onions are translucent
1 large tsp of ground cumin: add and stir once
Add the beans and
250 ml tomato passata
1/4 tsp (or more) chili/cayenne powder
2 tsp salt
120 ml water
juice of half a lemon
Bring to the boil and simmer for 15 minutes
Mix 1 1/2 tbsp of peanut butter with the bean liquid, or with half a cup of warm water, until smooth. Stir it in and adjust seasoning if necessary.

This is a delicious, easy recipe that freezes well and goes with so many things!

And the link: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/beans-and-lentils-recipes-tips-and-information/

Guess what! My sister and I are going to that show!

Cali, I just saw the dreadful news of the mudslide in your state. Just devastating.

I made hummus today and those tortilla flatbreads and had chopped cucumber with them Yum

And found a gorgeous dress at the Op Shop. This one. brand new. http://www.bo-peep.ie//v/vspfiles/photos/LBY001-2T.jpg And a pair of lovely green leather summer shoes I could wear with it.

But no desk tidying!

Oops just remembered I haven’t bought mushrooms for tomorrows miso soup. I’ll nip out in the morning.

PS Little Lunch no longer on after Operation Ouch!

Cali – Penguin is in Portugal chasing the winter sun.

Cinque – lovely dress. You need some flat black patent leather shoes to go with it. Glad to hear you are going to the show, enjoy.

Thin – looks like it’s taking the council a bit of time to sort out the airbnb. I hope they shut it down soon.

I had lunch in the city with someone I used to work with then drove to the far southern suburbs to drop off cherries to my niece and my nephew.
I was discussing some of the tasks I still have to do on the house and my niece offered to come up Friday to help me with some jobs that are easier with a second pair of hands. Like installing blinds in all the bedrooms. I had been delaying those tasks because I wasn’t sure I could manage properly alone.

I am joining the crowd and having nigerian bean stew for dinner.

Although I hadn’t intended to, I will probably fast yet again tomorrow rather than Friday as planned – as my my niece will be here Friday and I need the option of having lunch with her. That will also make it easy to start next week with a FD on Sunday which I do like doing.

Hi penguin:

Of course we miss you! Don’t worry about sleeping too much, the lack of scales or inulin.

Enjoy!

Hi E and welcome:

Diet days can be any days you want.

Here are some tips: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

Good Luck!

Thank you simcoeluv – I’ll check out those tips.

Thinatlast I am also a Perthite!
Thanks for all your advice. I am 1/2 way through the book.
Great to hear from someone who has lost and maintained the amount I am wanting to lose.

Feeling motivated already 😊

Thanks LJoyce,
Any suggestions on a plan for a work day fast day – 10am, 1230pm,, then something later in the evening.
I need to look closer into the other number you mention, (forgotten what it’s called already).
Cheers

Welcome EliC,
Lovely to have you here.
As the others have said, even though 5:2 is a great, simple concept we all do it in a way that fits with our individual health needs, our personality and our lifestyle. The first few weeks, especially, are a kind of scientific experiment where you work out what suits you.

I think your plan for a workday fast sounds great. All you can do is try it and see. I am not working, but I find I vary on busy days. Sometimes I find it really easy as I haven’t time to think of food and the day goes quickly and successfully. Other days I can’t concentrate and start making mistakes and need a little bit to eat to help me go.

Penguin, Lovely to hear from you and know you are having a great time. You don’t need those gym scales, you’ve got your waistband!

LJoyce you are right about the shoes. I can’t do patent leather but I think I have the next best thing. (Last weeks op shop find). Just wish I was thirty years younger, and had longer legs, to do it justice.

I did yoga for the first time since my op yesterday. It felt so good. I have to minimise it all and miss lots, but I have made a start. (Cali, I remember you ordered the Wai Lai dvd, maybe not mentioning it means it didn’t turn out to be suitable for you?)

And it is fast day for me today. Nice to know I have good company!
I’m going out to buy mushrooms and greens for this evenings miso soup. I’m so looking forward to it already!

Best wishes everyone

Good morning all, hi sim and HNYear to you, and Welcome to EliC,

Eli – you can do this snd you’re off to a good start. Lots of good advice from Simcoe, Thin, Ljoyce and Cinque. I’m one of the one’s who’ve done this to my goal weight of 62kgs at 5’6”/169cm, without exercise due to a chronic health condition, in my late 60’s, lost 21kgs. Done in Nov 2016. Continued on 5:2 as I like this WOL (way of life).

Drum roll – weighing in today at 64.4kgs. That may look unworthy of a drum roll for those not here during last year, but, last year was an Annus Horribilis of a multitude of stressful things having not just 1 after the other in quick succession, but often coming in pairs, triples, quads. 5:2, and my previous 2 yrs of 5:2, was
brilliant at helping keep my weight under reasonable control, combating stress eating,
and sometimes failed FDs along the way. I did whatever I could to keep sticking to 5:2, and it was a very welcome crutch to help me through the year without the added stress of watching my weight baloon from stress eating. Now I’m back to where I was in August last year just before DFIL passed away flanked by 2 stressful health situations + operations in 2 of my nearest and dearest. The stress is easing now and I’ve stayed steady with no weight gain over Christmas and NYear, and now continuing to slowly go back to my goal weight.

I continue to learn more about how various foods affect me, and how to implement 5:2 in my life. I love doing 2 FDs in a week, Mon/Thurs most of the time. I was dubious I could fast the furst FD, but after about 3FDs found it was fairly easy.

There are some who have a phenomena we call The Hunger Dragon ie we’re not hungry till we have our first food, and that triggers a raging appetite. I am one of those. To counter it I don’t eat till after 6pm on FDs and then eat all my calories in 1 meal.

Those without The Hunger Dragon usually eat breakfast and dinner, or 3 small meals.

Penguin – waistband a la Cinque.

Onwards and Downwards,
Merry

Happy fasting today LJ and Cinque. Glad you had a successful day out LJ with your former colleague and hope the Italian meal was good. Yes, our local council is complaint-driven and moves slowly in enforcing its own Code. Cinque, it’s good to know that you’re attempting more & more of your ‘normal’ activities.

Eli, yay! We can always do with more Perth losers. I’m SoR. I think you’re asking for actual food suggestions for your work day. I’m not working so I can’t really help with that – also any recommendations might depend on whether you’re responsible for preparing other family members’ meals after work, whether you’re male or female (600 vs 500 cals). etc. You can work out your TDEE on this page (menu item ‘resources’ at the top right). Here is our recipe page to get you started on low cal FD meals. https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/southern-hemispherites-fd-recipes/.

I tend to wait as long as possible for my first food intake on a FD (at least 2pm) and bank my calories for the evening ‘meal’. I find it’s psychologically easier to look forward to something to eat rather than watch the calories dwindle away as the day passes. Hunger comes and goes in waves and doesn’t have to be satiated with food; it can be distracted by activity so, if you’re busy at work, that could work well.

LJ, regarding your successful changing around of FDs, I feel I should qualify that by saying that you are highly motivated, highly disciplined, experienced and tenacious about maintaining your weight! It might be trickier for newbies to put off a FD because they wake up hungry and still manage to find a replacement fast day – but maybe not if they’re committed. Did you switch your days around from the outset? As you say, different personalities require different strategies and 5:2 accommodates everyone.

P.S. Hello Stay and Merry. Your posts appeared after I’d finished mine. That wedding sounds fun Stay.

Hi SHs, I’m late today as I’ve been out running errands before the day gets too hot here.

EliC, The number I mentioned was TDEE, you can find the calculator and an explanation for it here: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/how-many-calories-on-a-non-fast-day/ Some people have no problem with the normal eating days but they were more of a struggle for me than the fasting.
As Thin mentioned I am extremely motivated to maintain a weight that’s healthy for me so switching fast days doesn’t cause me problems and I know I will always do two. I have always planned my fast days at the beginning of each week as I usually know what social occasions or commitments I have to work around so I know in advance which two days will be the easiest to fast that week. I would say that I was more likely to change a FD in the beginning because I wasn’t hungry so thought that fasting might be easy that day – I was much less likely to abandon a FD just because I was finding it difficult – I felt I had to learn to push through that challenge and learn to accept the being hungry was OK.
I am retired so haven’t had to fit fasting into a work day. These days I eat only one meal on fast days – dinner. Throughout the day I drink cups of tea with milk and also water but I rarely eat any food. When I first started 5:2 I did not eat breakfast on FDs but I did have lunch and often a mid afternoon snack too. Lunch was always a veggie meal as either a salad or soup. Then I would have veggies with a little protein for dinner (eg a veg & chicken stirfry). As a snack my favourites were strawberries (26 calories per 100g) or carrot sticks (31 calories per 100g) or cherry tomatoes (16 calories per 100g). In colder weather I also used a cup of miso broth or cocoa made with low cal almond milk as snacks (unsweetened almond milks are 16-20cal per 100ml). I have always allocated some calories for milk in cups of tea on FDs as giving them up felt too much like punishment.
There are some people who prefer protein rich foods as snacks (eg a boiled egg).
How you structure food on a FD will depend on when you know you are hungriest (for me that’s late in the day) and also how demanding your work day is.

Stay, what do you wear to a wedding in a paddock? Definitely not shoes with heels that keep sinking into the ground. We’ve had a few DIY weddings in my family too. You don’t realise just how many little things there are to organise until you do a wedding that way. My sister was married in my parents garden – every auntie and cousin showed up with either a casserole or a dessert and that was the catering organised! My niece had her reception in my sister’s huge outdoor entertaining area but they hired in a mobile spit roasting caterer which was served with salads. The cost of weddings has grown to ridiculous levels – how is any couple supposed to buy a house if they’ve just spent the equivalent of half a house deposit on a wedding.

Merry, you sound in control again and much more positive. That’s definitely worthy of a drumroll after the endless stream of hurdles you had to jump last year.

Thin, for lunch I ended up ordering a toasted roll with eggplant, tomato, capsicum, mushroom and cheese filling – nice but a bit too drenched in oil for me. I probably would have been better off with a mini pizza like my lunch companion ordered – it appeared to have less bread and less oil than my lunch.

Cali, the mudslide damage looks just terrible, I hope your family are safe. It this the same part of California that’s just been through the fires?

I’m really not in the mood for another FD today, I’m definitely rebelling about the number of them I’ve done so close together lately. However scheduling next week is difficult because I have the infusion for my rheumatoid drug and I need to be careful which days I fast before and after that. Giving myself the option of fasting Sunday or Monday will be important. So I’ve talked myself into fasting today with the promise that after this I really will get at least two NFDs between FDs next week. On the plus side, my tight jeans are a comfortable fit at the moment and I’d like to keep it that way.

I’m going to try and remove the old blind brackets today – they’ve been painted over so many times that I suspect it will be a challenging task.