Thin, you would be amused if you could watch. It’s pretty funny.🤪

LJ, my DS has knee issues. Hers would probably go out if she tried getting up from the floor like that. She has to be careful not to twist it doing normal things. Several years ago it went out when she was walking in the hall at work, for no apparent reason. She spent a week in a wheelchair or with a walker. They didn’t recommend knee replacement, even after an MRI. She had pulled or torn something that starts with an “m”. I forget what it’s called.
You’ll have more muscles after all this work on your house!

Arel, hope you can get your post back. I often write my posts in the Note app on the iPad and then copy and paste it here.

Hi all,

It’s break and cuppa time for me – and a handful of cherries. I seem to be working faster today. I think I might even get the woodwork painting finished today (not the whole house, just the 3 areas I’m working on). Some welcome news – I got the revised quote from the cabinetmaker and it’s well within the budget I’d set. It means I’ll get the high impact kitchen reno tasks done only. It’s a big relief that I don’t have to go searching for more quotes.

Arelkade – don’t you just want to scream when that happens. It seems to happen to me with a really long post – probably because I’m taking too long to write it.

Cali – I think the word you are looking for is meniscus. My right knee issue started with a simple meniscus tear which was repaired during an arthroscopy. That should have been the end of it, but the surgery seemed to trigger my rheumatoid in that knee after the surgery and within 3 months the inflammation had damaged the joint so much that I needed a replacement.

Thin – yes I could do with a day off. I’ve promised myself Saturday off, once I finish this round of painting. I also have a number of things to organise that involve a lot of driving from place to place – that will give me a break from painting when I need it. Now that I know what pace I can work at I feel like I’m going to get things done in time.

GDSA – congrats on getting the assignments in. I hope your good results continue.

My cuppa is finished so back to work.

Arelkade, I’ve read your lost post. I think Penguin has some experience with water fasts so hopefully he has some advice to offer.

Hi Everyone
Wow Penguin, thats a long fast with no food at all. LJoyce, enjoy your Saturday off painting. Gday, good on you for doing those assignments in your holidays- sounds like they have been great. CaulifD, I tried to get up but had to use 1 hand to help myself. Looking forward to a cooler day today Cinque??- only 29 haha. Then a couple of stinkers again.
Im pleased to say Im 58 kg -as I was on my DDs wedding day 🙂 My goal is now to be 58 on a Monday so Ill probs have to be about 57 on a Friday.
Today some friends, who came to the wedding who love the Yarra Valley, are coming for breakfast at our local cafe and then we will hit some wineries. No real plans yet on which ones. We will no doubt have pizzas at Napoleons Cidery for lunch. And, if we are all choosing a winery, I’ll choose Chandon or maybe The Yarra Valley Dairy for cheeses. There are too many places to choose from as there are about 90 wineries!!

Have a great one!! xx

Hi everyone. Currently 78.2kg – only 5 days and 200gm to meet my mini target by the end of this month – fingers crossed and here’s hoping!
Went to our local Australia Day Celebrations – was a good morning. Was sitting in front of aircon most of the day – so humid; now currently pouring rain outside with thunder this afternoon!
Calif – thank you for your advice; I’m using my PC, not mobile; writing into Word, then will copy and paste – hope it works!!! Seems like it did – yaaa!!!
GDSA – so glad you managed to get your assignments in on time, can be so stressful, best wishes for your impending results; and enjoy being back at work
LJoyce – so happy your new quote is within budget, maybe now have a little extra to spend somewhere else. Enjoy your day off tomorrow – relax and revive: you deserve it as you’ve been working very hard lately
Penguin – Thanks so much for your advice with water fasting: will give it a go probably Sunday FD…so, nothing for me except fluids from 7pm Saturday night until breakfast on Monday. I know I couldn’t last as long as you – nearly 3 days, with exercise, that’s amazing!
Stay – No doubt your winery excursions sounds wonderful – pizza…cheese…wine…, just being in the Yarra Valley would be delightful
Hi to Thin, Cinque, LindsayL, Minka, Merry and anyone I have missed (not intentionally)
Enjoy whatever you are all doing, keep cool/warm depending on where you are.
Bye for now!

Cherry, welcome to the 5:2 forums and to this thread in particular. You’re already having great success with losing. 5 kg is a lot! That can only be good for your injured knee. Even if you’re not doing much walking now, after surgery you’ll probably be doing physical therapy and you’ll be happy to have less weight on that knee.

How much are you trying to lose? Are you finding the fast days (FD) easy or difficult? They become easier over time until they’re just a normal part of your week. I have a few things that I like to eat that are low calorie and eat those almost every FD. Soup is always an easy and filling choice, as are steamed vegetables, which are great at providing lots of fiber and keeping you feel full..

Hi Cherry, welcome. I’m glad you’ve found fasting in the first three weeks fairly easy and have had good weight loss. I agree that it’s tempting to snack when you are stuck at home – I find that difficult on NFDs too. The fact that you are immobile shouldn’t be a problem. There are a number of people on this forum with chronic health issues that force them to be sedentary. I too lost weight while waiting for a knee operation and unable to exercise.
I think you will find that 5:2 is sustainable. For me, it’s the first time moving from weight loss to maintenance has felt seamless and because most days I am eating normally I don’t feel like I’m on a diet. I’ve been doing 5:2 for just over a year and I find it a comfortable way of life that keeps my weight stable, but there are others for whom this has been a way of life for several years.

Good morning, happy weekend everyone.

Cinque, isn’t it amazing what some warmth and water can do to seedlings. It’s like magic.

I had a welcome surprise this morning. I have an orchid that my dad used to have in his nursing home room. It sits on the window sill in my dining area. It’s well over a year since it last flowered and I was starting to wonder it it was going to flower again. My dad loved the orchids and every time a flower opens I think of it as dad popping in to say hello. This one has flowers in a dark crimson with very pale green stripes – really pretty. This orchid has had buds for many weeks that haven’t opened, so walking into the kitchen this morning and seeing the flower just brightened my day.

I have decided to start my day off by washing clothing and bed sheets and baking bread. My painting clothes need washing badly – I have three sets of garments that have become painting clothes and they are all dirty and I really don’t want to turn any more normal clothes into painting clothes.

I’m soaking some rolled barley, rye and spelt grains to add to the wholemeal and soy flours. I think I might make a small loaf and some rolls.

Hope you all have nice plans for your weekend.

Hi Thin, if they throw their parking ticket over your fence, does it become yours?
My orchids are the exact opposite of a magnolia in flowering habit. It takes a year or more for a flower stem to form, but once the buds start opening I have flowers for months. They are both beautiful flowers though. The thing that always looks striking with magnolias is that they flower on a bare tree rather than when it’s in leaf – I can’t think of anything else that does that.

My bread is out of the oven and I’ve had a very hot grainy roll for lunch, spread with a pile of hummus that I made this morning. I blended it for much longer than usual and the hummus is a light creamy texture – I’ll have to remember that for next time.

I’ve just been rummaging in the fridge to see what veggies are left that need to be used before I shop next week. I need to search my recipe files and the internet for a recipe that uses some combination of red capsicum, pumpkin, onion, purple congo potatoes, carrots and celery. I’m thinking something with legumes and possibly coconut milk. If anyone had ideas let me know, I’m hoping to create one or two meals from what’s on hand. This is all a whole lot easier in winter when I can just throw it all in the soup pot.

Stay cool everyone. The drawback of baking today is that the oven has heated my house and I’ve had to turn on the aircon.

Cali, I’ve found a pic which is close to my orchid. Although I think mine has a hint more lime green in the background colour. https://imgur.com/GLO3XIB After looking for pics I’ve discovered this orchid is native to Mauritius.

I’ve spent the afternoon cooking.
I’ve made the Qorma-e-Maash that Cinque posted (mung beans with tomato, potato, capsicum & spinach) – it’s still bubbling away, almost cooked.
I’ve made a huge pot of red lentil coconut dahl, which is very delicious. I’ve posted the recipe on the legume thread https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/beans-and-lentils-recipes-tips-and-information/page/3/
I am also soaking some brown lentils which I will add to the cooked potato, pumpkin, onion & celery and turn into pasties. I have an oat and wholemeal pastry recipe (from WW2) that has a less fat than normal pastry which I’ll use. I’ll finish making these in a day or two, once the filling is cold. These will be useful in the freezer for those NFDs when I feel like a substantial lunch.

So much for reducing the amount of food in the freezer, I think I’ll be adding quite a bit to it after today’s efforts. I’ve just added the wholemeal & barley rolls and also the mini loaf that I baked this morning. That should keep me going in bread for 2-3 weeks.

For dinner I’m not having any of this. I had already taken a pouch of Nigerian bean stew out of the freezer for dinner. So I’m having that with 2 slices of the freshly baked bread.

Hello everyone we are back in Cairns!!!

And a BIG Welcome to the newbies I saw have joined us while I was away!!

Well, where do I start???

I have been reading all the posts although I did not have time to comment while away. It is great to read what everyone has been up to. Especially Thin, your take on Australia Day celebrations in your area. It sounds as if it has been a nightmare for you in the past and hope this year was much better.

I also saw the recipe for dahl that was posted on the other forum. I wondered what the calorie count would be for it? Does anyone know?
I have not had a lot to do with lentils although I have started to experiment with chick peas and making my own hummus, and of course using a variety of bean types in the many soups I have made. It is just too hot in Cairns for soups now but I do make the odd freeze dried miso on fast days.

FD’s while away consisted of only eating two meals a day. Our hotel had a lovely breakfast spread with heaps of fruit. I started the day with fruit and natural yoghurt and an omelette if it was available. I am not a big egg eater so I am really picky with eggs. I also tried turkey bacon for the first time!! This was available in the halal breakfast restaurant.

I weighed myself on return and of course have put some on. I think some is due to bloating which I seem to get after flying long distances, then once home my body goes back to normal. I have only had miso today so far and will have a little chicken ans salad for dinner.

I will be checking in more often now I am home.

We have plans to be in Singapore again in March so I have a lot to loose before I return, then Japan in April!!

Ok I’m back with the calorie count.
The Lentil Coconut dahl that I posted on the legume recipe thread is 235 calories (989kj)per cup. It might vary a little depending on the stock and coconut milk that you use. I counted a handful of shaved coconut as 15 grams because that’s how much fits into my hand. The only way to get the calorie count down would be to leave out the shaved coconut and use half a tin of coconut milk – use an extra cup of stock.

Because I don’t count calories any more I normally don’t think so much about the calorie count of dishes. I just know that if it has high cal ingredients I need to eat a smaller portion. I’m glad I worked this one out, because a cup of this with either veg or a salad would actually fit into a fast day. Given that I’m about to have 6 x 1 cup serves of this stashed in the freezer that will be very useful.

Thanks thin. Unfortunately that states “No preview”. Either I am missing something, it won’t open on Safari or it isn’t available here because the book isn’t out yet. I’m probably not seeing something.

Good morning,
it is already hot, and about to get hotter. The walls are hot, the floor is blood temperature I think! I don’t have air conditioning. Luckily I have water and a fan!
Fasting today. And lots of listening to the radio or watching tv. I bought watermelon too, inspite of its sweetness, it is so cooling. Hoping its low GI means it won’t make me crook.

What a stunning orchid LJoyce. Such a pleasure.
And what a nice cooking day. Your freezer may be full, but full of such wonderful food! There must come a tipping point soon when it starts to empty!

Wow, your curry tree grew Thin! I have read that they can be a terrible environmental weed too, as birds take their seeds all over. I prune off any flowering and prune it back each winter. I can’t think of any way to describe the leaves, Cali, apart from pungent and savoury. But it is a warm, light pungency and they give a wonderful background flavour to the southern Indian cuisine. It is a distinct flavour. Wonderful with coconut milk, they would work in LJoyce’s dal I think! https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Curry_tree

I planted seedlings. I just wanted to get something in, now I have finally got round to looking after the garden again (consists of a 1 x 1.5 metre raised bed and lots of pots). Most things had died because I couldn’t look after them for a couple of months there, so I have started with the little bed and a couple of pots next to it, and I will expand back out again once the heat of summer has passed.

I don’t do much raising from seed, my aim is to get favourites self sowing, and I use seedlings for the rest. However, someone gave me some chive seeds a few years ago, and I have got them in seed raising mix in a container on my windowsill, just in case they are still viable.

I do both those things with my spearmint!
Good luck with your oregano!

I just love magnolias too, all sorts.

Welcome home JJulie, you jetsetter you. You have a nice couple of months to 5:2 happily before your next jaunt.

Fingers crossed we get a (gentle) thunderstorm this afternoon, with (gentle) rain.

Good morning SHs,

Cinque, it’s going to be 42C here today, but I am lucky enough to have a split system in the lounge room which cools part of the house. I hope you manage to stay cool – it might take a few cold showers.
I actually feel the same about watermelon in hot weather. I bought a 1/4 watermelon a week ago and cut it into small “grab and go” triangular wedges that I stacked into a container in the fridge. I have just 2 left for today. I won’t be foolish enough to turn the stove or oven on today as it just makes the house hotter.
Cinque, as you are the only other bread baker around here I had been meaning to tell you that I’ve started using kefir in my bread dough. I replace some water with up to a cup of kefir. I was hoping I could fake a sourdough without the work of a starter, but I don’t really notice much change in flavour to the bread. It does work well with the slow rise overnight method of prooving. I think it makes a slightly softer crust than an all water dough.

Thin, glad to hear the cool weather has reached you, it’s due to arrive here tomorrow. Yes I will be fasting today.

I normally have cups of tea and an evening meal on FDs, but I think it will probably be a snacking day today. I have hummus and carrot & celery sticks, plus watermelon and I might make a kefir & fruit smoothie too. No cooking and all cooling foods.

Hi everyone – have enjoyed reading all your posts – will check in again tomorrow.
78.6kg yesterday and today – up from 78.2 on Friday. Trying my first water fast day today – bit of a headache, slight ‘tummy’ pain, feeling a bit ‘tired’ – probably need to drink more!
Look forward to seeing how I go 😟 – wouldn’t like to do more than 36 hours! See how I feel tomorrow morning.
Penguin – you must be a man of steel to last as long as you do – very impressive!
Enjoy your day everyone and bye for now!

Hi Minka, are you out there? I wanted to tell you that I’ve booked my body composition analysis with the mobile scanner that you suggested. I first confirmed that they’ll be using the Inbody 570 machine as you recommended. I can now appreciate that you felt nervous before attending, as do I. I wanted OH to come with me but he started quizzing me on how much radiation one would receive in the process – and anyway he’s flown away for a few weeks now.

Cinque, I went to the Asian grocer to replenish my mung bean supply. While there, I saw tubs of dashi that you often write about. Under the label ‘dashi’, it read ‘soy bean paste’.

I’m with Arel, Penguin, I think you deserve the ‘man of steel’ label. Wasn’t that Longo book sampler annoying ending mid-sentence? It’s one thing to whet your appetite but fancy ending with something like, “preventing one disease can cause a propensity to develop another, for example, most people don’t know that curing ……….”!

Anyway Arel, good luck with the water fast! Please report back. Hope you had a good day too Cinque and LJ. Gosh, I used to be all alone fasting on Sundays, now there’s loads of company. I’ve had a fab day pottering in the garden peacefully. Other than breakfast, I only had a yellow nectarine. It’s Sunday after all!

Good morning all. Early start for me today as the hot night kept me awake. I gave up trying to get to sleep at 5:30 and got up.
The only trouble with a lack of sleep is my mind insists that it needs food instead. So at 6:30 I found myself eating poached eggs on toast. Not the way I normally break a fast.
I think today will be a rather slow one, I just hope the need for food calms down or it might be a high cal one too.

Oh no! I was listening to the radio. I’ve turned it on now since they are likely to repeat it every half hour 🙂 (You did mean tv?)

I survived a hot, hot day and a hot hot night. I remembered my air cooler that I hadn’t been able to get out this summer due to op recovery. It worked well yesterday but it might get too humid today.

A pretty dodgy fast day yesterday, I’ll do better next time.

Penguin I had the Aussie flu last year, as we were inventing it! It was horrible (I”d had the flu injection and it didn’t work) (We blamed Europe). You will eventually recover. Keep taking it easy.

LJoyce, I am glad you have stopped vibrating! I’m glad you survived the night too.

Thin, that dashi is interesting, as in my experience it is the Japanese style stock I add my miso paste to. Maybe the tub has it all together?
Enjoy your quiet days.

Arelkade keep drinking that water! How are you feeling this morning?

My breakfast is crispbreads and perfect avocado! My sister got me three from the farmers market (these ones: https://www.harrisfarm.com.au/blogs/pick-of-the-week/reed-avocados)

Best wishes all

Cinque, I found a decent avocado yesterday after a couple of weeks of an apparently bad crop (whereby part of them remains hard and inedible while the other side gets over-ripe) coupled with my initial resistance to their new high of $4 each. I couldn’t examine the dashi/soy bean paste ingredients as the print is too small and I didn’t have my glasses.

Last night, DD had the leftover Nigerian Stew which I’d frozen and some mung bean soup that I made without soaking the beans, just poured the boiling water over as you suggested Cinque. It was so delicious, I could eat some now but will wait for dinner time! The aromas while cooking were tantalising.

I also tried freekeh that some of you mention for the first time. But it came in a mix with beans and lentils and a suspiciously low cooking time of 15 minutes (which I hadn’t noticed in store, again due to having no glasses with me). It was OK but nothing special. I’ve just looked it up and learned that freekeh is the name of the production process of grains and not the name of a grain variety. So I don’t really know what I was eating.

LJ, you’re working so hard. Your house must be looking fantastic. It’s a cool week for us. Around 30C, just about perfect.

Arel, well done for making it through the water fast. What is ACV?

One of the things I’ve noticed anecdotally is that, since embarking on this fasting way of life, I have not had a single cold. Even when OFMs got sick, I did not catch it. 😆

Wish me luck; I’m off to start Bridge lessons this morning. Hoping it will keep my brain young and fit. But worried that my brain won’t be able to cope with so much new information all at once.

Wwall, I hope you get that finished in time. Make sure you label boxes so you know what can be unpacked later, when it’s cooler. I hope the move goes well and nothing gets damaged.

Thin, I must be the only one who doesn’t care for avocado. I will sometimes use it as a spread with other toppings but I rarely eat it as a stand alone ingredient. I’m afraid I resent the high calorie count for a food with almost no flavour.
Good luck with the bridge lesson, I hear it takes quite a while to learn how to play well. p.s. I think ACV is apple cider vinegar.

Arel, glad the water fast was OK and that it removed the weekend gain. Sounds like you are likely to make your January goal, well done.

Cinque, I expect your night was as hot and humid as mine. Did you lose power?
I had power, but I only have a fan in the bedroom no a/c, and unless there’s a cool night breeze it’s pretty stifling.

After a night of no sleep I decided I didn’t have the energy or coordination for renovation this morning, so I did a little grocery shopping and then came home and continued with the cooking I started Saturday. I had started to cook veg and lentils that I had an idea of turning into pasties. What I’ve come up with is two fillings:
– moroccan spiced brown lentil, cashew, tomato, mushroom, onion & roast pumpkin pasties with a spelt and sesame seed pastry
– potato, carrot, pumpkin, onion, celery, peas, thyme, pancetta and cheddar pasties in a wholemeal and oat pastry
That has used up all the veg I had on hand from last week’s shopping and a few ingredients from the pantry and freezer too.
I tried to make very small batches of the fillings but I think I have enough to make at least a dozen pasties – which will end up in the freezer!
The fillings need to cool for a couple of hours before I do the pastry. I’ve remembered why I don’t do this very often – there’s too many steps.

Have a good day everyone.

Hi all. Kiefer update – spreading my kefir intake to small amounts throughout the day has quelled the issues i had from consuming 2 large glasses each morning.

While quickly skimming through posts i noticed a discussion on water fasts although i did not read in full. I regularly do a 36 hour no food fast however i do drink black tea and coffee and miso in hot water over the fasting period. I cannot go without my 3 cups of coffee every morning and find the miso helps me get through any sluggish moments during the day. My OH thinks I’m a bit crazy doing this though !!

Hello fellow Aussie’s! Straight up… I would LOVE A BUDDY!!!
I’m Melbourne based – a total newbie here 🙂 on day 1 of this Way Of Eating and today is my first FD.
A little background – I have struggled with eating my whole life. I have been 50 kgs and 80kgs. Now a more balanced 66 but my optimal is 60kgs. I was bulimic from the age of 16 to 35 – I put down the purging early 2016 – The binging however continued. Also, due to such trauma on my body my body has no idea of how to lose weight naturally anymore.
So I am here to find some more balance. To kick start HEALTHY weight loss. To be in a supportive environment where I can learn from and support others as we all grow and strive to be the very best US’s we can be! 😀
I have been drinking psyllium husk to stave off the hunger pangs – just at my first small meal of the day at 3:45pm – 260cals and will eat another small meal tonight before 7pm to make up my 500 for the day.
Does anyone have any suggestions for me?
Would love to connect with a few of you here and it was so lovely to read the thread. 😀 Hello to each and everyone of you!
Keep smashing it and look forward to hearing back. Deep gratitude.
Ella

Hi Ella and welcome:

Here is most of the information you need to be successful with 5:2: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

Good Luck!

LJoyce, sorry to hear of the olive oil pastry disaster. When I made some it didn’t fall apart. But I don’t feel like I have mastered olive oil pastry, and I do know there are a large number of recipes (with a huge difference in the amount of olive oil put in).

I bet your little ramekins work gorgeously though!

I wanted to say about pasties, that I never use a recipe where the veggies are cooked first. The whole point of pasties (for me) is that the veggies steam inside the pastry as it cooks.

Thinking of you Wwall, horrible day to be doing anything active! But not the day to hide under a doona either! Good luck

Arelkade, you have the curry herb or curry plant, as opposed to the curry tree or curry leaf. 😉 Here is the best info I have found about it. http://theherbgardener.blogspot.com.au/2012/04/how-to-grow-curry-plant.html
We grew it once, but didn’t use it for anything except impress people with the smell as they walked through the garden!

Gday, so glad you have the kefir in the right amounts now. I gather that having it regularly is more important for gut health than having lots of it.

Everyone seems to do water fasts with some flavoured, and the occasional caloried, liquids with it. Makes sense. I wonder if I will ever do one? We’ll see if Stay does one after a week with her wild friends.

Stay, the lotus flower garden sounds wonderful!

And a 33 year old daughter…. I still think I’m that age! My daughter turns 26 this year. Isn’t it weird.

Congratulations having all the wedding food sorted. Hooray for chooks!
Yes, I’d just gone off avocados because of expense and finding they are too old (bruising or picked so young they never ripen). Such a treat to eat them all week this week!

It is thinking about rain here. 30 degrees all last night, and twenty degrees all tomorrow daytime. Melbourne has crazy weather.
But I didn’t lose power last night LJoyce. Thank goodness, I needed my fan. I’m glad you had yours and Wwall had hers. Did you get though without a power cut too Ella?

Good luck with bridge Thin!
I have never had freekah, but read about it lots. A bit like burgul, so that will be why it is quick, but green wheat and roasted on an open fire to cook it so it is meant to be deliciously smoky. It is traditionally wheat, but maybe they use other grains now for people who need to be gluten free.
Touch wood and whistle about the colds, I caught 47 least year I think! Including the flu.

It is trying hard to get to 100% humidity here. I’m going to lie down for a bit! Cheers all.