Checking in. Two pounds down from last Monday.

The conversation about carbs has been interesting. Over the weekend whilst grandchild sitting I found in the bookcase a book by one of Cinque’s darling twin doctors. A first section very similar to the content of the TV programme, presented in a very common sense manner. Then a series of menus featuring three or two day meal regimes, with a passing and approving reference to both 16:8 hour eating and 5:2. Some of the meals look good, appearing to pass the healthy and tasty test.

Ha Penguin, I want to read that book! Dr Xand spoke about it when I saw them and it does keep popping up on his twitter feed with lots of comments about how good and commonsense it is. (presuming you mean this one http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTaa2tdAimZ0WkDZIGb_mxUGhYfbhG9APhH7qQTb–Wy57WtyVE)
Interestingly he had put on quite a bit of weight when I saw him and came out in his boxer shorts to make it extra obvious. He admitted that he doesn’t do well staying in hotels and with a busy schedule of shows and all that goes with it. He was able to lose the excess weight again I notice from recent pictures.

Arelkade, not having the things you don’t want to eat in the house must be the best step one ever. Congratulations for feeling good about where you are, and journeying on to get even better.

Stay, isn’t it going quickly for your daughters new home! And doesn’t a house feel crowded with extras in it. You’ll all be enjoying the space and then making the most of the last few weeks under the same roof, until they can move into their own home.

I had to laugh when you spoke about taking in clothes because my best trousers are feeling a bit tight and that is part of why I took stock and decided to make some changes with the amount of food I am eating. I was glad of the new pair of trousers but they were slipping down. Opshop ones, so no loss if I messed up the alteration. I think I did it right though, yippee and they are nice and warm. But I am keeping on wearing the tight ones as they make me think twice about eating anything!

I am very pleased with my mindfulness around food yesterday and am doing my best to do the same today. I am hoping to sit in the sun for more vitamin D therapy but it is thick grey cloud today. 🙁

My computer started off shockingly slow again today but when I turned it off without letting it shut itself down, it then started up properly. Hooray. I’ve already been working on that business plan!

Better get back to it.
Best wishes for a good day.

Cinque. Thats the one.

Good morning everyone from cold grey Melbourne,
I had a bad day yesterday. I think I expected a good day (getting lots of things done) and it wasn’t, so I got all self destructive and overate. You’d think that at 60 years old I could be a bit more adult about life! Oh well, it is a new day and I can fast! So I’m your fast buddy today Thin. I have my shiitake and yuba soaking and I am meeting a friend this afternoon at a cafe so that will make the day even more special.

So glad to hear of DD in India, even if she has been thrown in the deep end she is obviously the right person for the job.

Sybs, I think your question is for Thin, but when I started on 5:2 I wanted to get down to 60kg and I was fascinated at how I just kept going. I sit naturally at around 50 to 52kg and it was 5:2 and my body who worked it about between them. And there it is, nicely at the lower end of my healthy BMI range.

Cheers to everyone. I’ve been hearing scientists talk about how, on a universal level, time isn’t an actual thing. But how grateful I am to live in time and have a new day ahead of me.

He he, CalifD, I like those cards. Yes, the freezer is our friend. Preserving those temptations for another day when we probably won’t want them!

Great Cinque, sorry to read about what led you to fasting today but very glad you’re with me. I woke thinking I’m growing tired of miso soup and must start making alternatives for my FDs. But there are miso leftovers from Sunday so it’s all decided for me.

Sybs, I hadn’t realised that question was for me but Cinque’s answer could have been written by me. I never had a goal weight when I started 5:2; I just wanted to shed 10kgs. I found it all so easy that I just kept going. After a lengthy plateau, I made a decision to call it maintenance. And like Cinque says, there was the perfect BMI to greet me.

Earlier this year, I had the Inbody scan (measuring visceral fat) on Minka’s recommendation and it cheekily indicated that, at 61kg, I was 2 kgs over my ideal weight. So I lost another 2kgs but have settled back up at 59-60kgs so I feel this is where my body wants to be.

Cinque, sorry to hear you had a bad day. If it’s any consolation, I’m 69 and often still refuse to act like an adult. I still pout and throw tantrums, but 99% them are in my own head. (Which is probably why I have to take meds for high blood pressure.) I think acting like an adult is way overrated and I only do it when absolutely necessary, like for job related things. 😗 https://secure.img1-fg.wfcdn.com/im/32002600/resize-h800%5Ecompr-r85/3273/32736581/Don%2527t+Grow+Up%252C+It%2527s+a+Trap+Paper+Print.jpg

Thin, you daughter must be having a very interesting time in India. What a great experience for her.

Ooh lovely Cali, let’s have our virtual house warming party for LJoyce!
I love those cards.
I have two offerings:

https://cdn.notonthehighstreet.com/system/product_images/images/001/144/740/original_enjoy-your-new-plaice-new-home-card.jpg

http://cdn.supadupa.me/shop/7666/images/2116167/buy_rabbit_and_teapot_new_home_cards_online_welcome_to_your_new_house_card_grande.jpeg

I also wanted to say how much I love the sound of rain on the roof. So comforting to be warm and snug inside, but in touch with what is happening out there.

Cali, that is a good point about not acting grown up. I like my childlike behaviour to be fun and spontaneous, but preferably not self destructive!

Sybs, hello fast buddy. I’ll be interested to read more answers to that question of yours!

Thin – DD sounds extremely busy – but what an amazing experience! I have a vet friend here in Cairns, and she goes up to Cape York communities on a regular basis. There is a 2 hours time difference between Perth and Bali -> Cairns, so I frequently get phone calls when I am just about ready to go to bed, and usually it means that I have to turn the computer on again, to check out something or other.
I love 4:3, it’s so easy, 1 on 1 off, finishing with 2 off Saturday and Sunday. When things get a little challenging, I just keep repeating “it’s only for 1 day” until the urge for a snack is gone :-)) I guess we all work out our own “crutches” to support us.

Thin, My blood pressure is still up and down, probably a lot to do with the blood pressure meds that they can’t switch too quickly. But I’m mostly feeling good, just have to be aware and stay calm. I’m still on medical leave from work, so that eliviates some of the stress. I’ve been doing my weekly fasts for the past couple weeks and was at 59.5 this morning. With the weather getting hot now, I feel less hungry. Something about cold rainy weather and hunkering down and eating I guess.

I bought a large head of cauliflower for $1.98 a couple days ago. Normally it’s $2,98 or $3.98. I can’t remember the last time it was this low. I wish I had more space in my frig!

In case any of you ever doubt the value of national health care that you have there, I received an unbelievable bill yesterday from the ambulance company. After my husband drove me to the hospital and I walked in, they did a scan and decided I needed to be transferred to their neurological unit which is about 18 km away. They would not let my husband drive me because I had already been admitted. Nor did I have any choice about the ambiance company they contracted with. Uneventful trip, no sirens or flashing lights. The bill was $10,600. I couldn’t believe it. In my wildest dreams I could not imagine how they came to that figure. Have they never heard of Uber? Fortunately Medicare (which I pay monthly premiums for) will probably pick up most of it. But if I had private insurance or no insurance, would be stuck with all or a much larger amount. Doing research on the Internet I find this isn’t at all unusual in the United States. Don’t ever take your national health care for granted.

Hi everyone

Almost at the end of a FD and its been really easy so far. I have a miso soup made from the paste and it was just what I needed to warm me up. I have been struggling with FDs lately and I know what the problem is. I have been trying to make up for over indulgence by doing extra FDs. When I don’t succeed at doing the extra ones properly, I have been getting really down on myself. I have decided to stick with the two days and do them properly and then eat mindfully on the other days. It was working for me before so I’m not sure why I felt the need to change it. So I’m glad to day has been easy 🙂

Hope you are all doing well x

Good job Quacka, you’ve worked out what works best for you. Get those two FDs mastered before any other changes (so say I, anyway).

Arel, that’s very sad that your brother is suffering. I remember one of my nans and my dad both felt the same when the time came. Of course we didn’t want them to give up but tried to support their feelings and thoughts throughout the time they had left with us. I’d learned decades earlier while working on an oncology ward that we tend to handle death and dying poorly in our culture. The patient often just wants their thoughts validated and to be able to talk and cry about the reality, while those around them are often trying to avoid those difficult conversations and keep it all ‘normal’. Your brother is fortunate to be surrounded by caring and loving family members where he can express his thoughts and not have to feel that he must be strong for everyone else.

Keep going Arel. Fantastic news about your dad. You’ll get under 75kg soon enough and how good and strong you will feel when that happens. If you’re going to be looking after your dad, you’ll need to be fit and healthy. Thinking of you and hoping these words come out right on the page. A walk in the park with the dogs, kicking autumn leaves sounds just the tonic!

Happy Birthday Penguin! It beats the alternative. You seem to be managing very well with a vast range of interests and activities (for an elder). Keep it up! 😆

It’s almost the end of a FD but now I must venture into the cold and dark (in more ways than one) to a bridge lesson.

Arel, I wish there were better words to say than I’m sorry about your brother and all he is going through. I don’t think I could say it better than thin’s message to you above. Can I add a “me too” to that?

It’s so good to hear that your Dad is coming back home. You always seem to be happier when he’s there. Hugs to all of you.

Thinatlast, thank you. It does indeed beat the alternative.

Cali, whenever my body starts whinging I tell it that it is only 45. That is increasingly difficult to sustain, I may have to tell it I am 47. For some time now I have have been telling the machines in the gym that I am less than half of my actual age. If I tell them the truth they won’t let me work.

I watched that you tube link. I do have a red guitar and a black T shirt, but I shaved off my moustache some years ago, so nothing else in common with anyone there. I shaved because OH had been trying to get me to do so for a number of years. It took her two months to notice. I keep threatening to grow a beard, but the last time I didn’t shave it came out in black and white areas and I looked like a badger.

Tahiti sounds good, I could take my paints and pretend to be a dissolute famous artist, or even become a dissolute unknown artist.

We are going out for a meal tonight. Tomorrow’s weigh-in will be interesting.

Hi Quakka, so good to hear from you. I bet you have got it exactly right. Trying to make up for indulgences with extra fast days can so easily become self defeating. Hopefully those two basic fast days (preferably with miso 😉 ) a week will give you a nice stable platform to deal with the other days. Over indulge one day, try not to the next.
And hopefully now we are adjusting to those winter days. My cat and I have both settled down after a hungry reaction to cold days!

Arelkade, best wishes to your brother. It is so exhausting and grinding to be in constant pain. I do so hope the hospital can help. At least getting hydrated again might make things a bit easier. I do hope he gets an easy day today.

Lovely news about your dad!

Good luck getting off that plateau, are you going to to try that low carb diet? If so, you could make it just a week and see how it goes.
On the other hand, with your life so hectic and full of stress at the moment, maintaining a plateau can be seen as a wonderful accomplishment. Keep looking after yourself as best you can.

Thin, what an adventure your daughter is having! And what good work she is doing. Hooray for wifi.
I hope it was a great bridge session last night. Is concentration harder on a fast day? Or does working on bridge provide a good distraction from any hunger?

Sybs, pumpkin and cauliflowers, yum. I love your distinction of useful and useless carbs.
I was listening to an excellent podcast with a dietician where she said that sedentary lives mean that by the time we eat our veg for the day, there is simply no room for useless carbs. (your words 😉 she said junkfood)

LJoyce, you are doing so well writing on your tiny phone screen!
Yes, leftovers from childhood, those self destructive behaviours that are still with us today. Food, the sweeter the better, was my childhood reward.
How are you going doing some everyday (ie not cheesecake) cooking in your dear new home. Are you starting to stack the freezer with delicious things again?

I am hoping to make veggie pies today. I am perfecting my recipe. Mushrooms and lentils in them this time.

Cali, it must be so frustrating waiting for your meds to sort themselves out. It seems similar to antidepressants: trying something, building it up, then slowly stopping it and trying something else. Se wearing because you have to put up with the side effects, and with it not working properly, at the same time. And Oh Dear! I do appreciate our health care system!

I’m glad you are able to have fast days and that your weight is sitting nicely under 60.

Enjoy those cauliflowers, Cali and Sybs. What are you going to do with them? I am longing to make aloo gobi soon.

I watched a show on SBS last night: https://www.sbs.com.au/food/health/article/2018/06/12/why-do-slim-people-who-eat-lot-never-seem-put-weight It was very interesting, especially because the two people they focused on seemed eat huge amounts all the time but they investigated what was actually going on.

Ok this post took a while! I wonder if I have missed some new ones in the meantime, but I have a doctors appt (routine) (no cost thanks health care system) soon and need to make coffee. Best wishes everyone, cheers.

a question to everyone – do you have experience in turning the starchy carbs in rice, pasta and bread into resistant starch by cooking, cooling or freezing and re-heating? I watched the Dr Xand program yesterday, and was wondering how hot it has to be when re-heating (I don’t have a micro wave oven). Bread is easy, as you just stick the frozen bread into a toaster.

Sybs, I didn’t see that programme but isn’t it the cooling period that creates the resistant starch? Note that only a small percentage is converted into resistant starch.
https://www.southdenver.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/Resistant-Starch-for-web.pdf

Happy birthday Penguin. Age is just a number, I’m glad to see you don’t let it limit you.

Quacka, I completely identify with the pattern you find youself in. When I start overeating onNFDs I too compensate by doing more FDs. I find it doesn’t solve the problem as I resent the deprivation of the extra FDs and it leads to more bad behaviour. I found Thins advice the most useful on this. Concentrate on 5:2. Do just 2 good FDs, which will help you feel better about yourself then focus on improving the NFD. It’s scary when you are overeating to do this as the immediate fear is that you’ll gain weight before you get your 5:2 back in balance. That may happen but then you realise that what you are doing isn’t working for you either.
With the NFDs I don’t focus beyond today. So I’ll focus on the day, sometimes one meal at a time. If I focus too far ahead it feels like too big a challenge. Because you know what isn’t working that’s half the battle. I really hope you get back to a better eating pattern.

Arel, I’m so pleased to hear that your dad has improved so much.
Was so sorry to hear about your brother. Does he have a morphine pump to manage his pain? I lost my mum to pancreatic cancer 19 years ago. I remember her struggle with the constant pain. The morphine pump helped – she had a little cloth bag that it went into so she could carry it over her shoulder and still be mobile. There may even be better options available these days.I hope they find a solution that helps him deal better with his pain levels.

I had a good NFD yesterday it was very controlled eating for a change. I have two more NFDs then a FD Saturday – when I’m baking for a 90th birthday on Sunday (my uncle).

I’m about to head out looking for a coffee table that’s large enough for my living area.

Hi Thin – I’ve got VPN which I use to access geo-restricted content

Good afternoon!

Sybs, your question about resistant starch. I noticed in that list of pointers (http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/4DfZMpv7BYJ3kGXdHxdxkKp/10-things-you-may-not-know-about-carbs):
“it’s even better if you re-heat things like pasta, rice and potatoes – and make sure everything, especially the rice, is piping hot – this further increases the resistant starch content.”
And this was the most useful sciencey thing I found: https://freetheanimal.com/2014/10/reheating-digestive-resistance.html

Your version of aloo gobi sounds very good.

Thin, my post was so LONG. But I only had a sentence or two for everyone!
So glad it didn’t disappear.

I’ve noticed lots of people get cold with fasting, and my friend who had a gastric sleeve op is cold all the time, even though she is a normal weight, I mean not super skinny or anything.

I was very cold for a few days at the start of winter and found that it was a result of not drinking enough water. (For good reason, the water was too cold!) Making myself drink more got me back to normal. It would be nice if it was that easy for you too. I keep forgetting to ask my friend if it might be the case for her.
Good for you managing bridge with decreased mental concentration.

My pies are a riff on Woolton Pie and have a potato pastry top. No bottom. I will freeze most of them, and then heat them up to bubbling when their time comes, thereby making them a bit healthier!

LJoyce, congrats on that lovely controlled NFD. Best wishes for today too, and happy birthday to your uncle on Sunday. 90 years old! He might even be older than Penguin!
I have a good friend whose birthday is also on Sunday. (Easy to remember because my birthday is on Saturday 😉 )

Oh Quakka, that alcohol. How sad it is that it is such a bad one for weight, and sugar in the blood, and all those related chronic illnesses. And it is never easy when you have a partner temptingly drinking every day.
Well you must have already cut back because of fast days. Would you prefer to cut it out another day or two, or cut down how much you drink each day?

Hooray for loving veggies though, I am just about to cut up 6 big cups of veggies, to make my six wooltonish pies.

Chop chop!

For all the birthday wishes, thank you.

The meal last night was interesting. 5:2 seems to have changed me in a number of ways. I had a modest starter and mains and two largish glasses of red. About half way through a perfectly good main I lost interest in it and the wine had more impact than it used to. The wine was the surprise -like Quacka my vice was alcohol.

It is satisfying to learn that for years I have been doing the right thing without knowing it. I make our bread in large batches and freeze it. When we need some, I take it out of the freezer, put it in a cold oven which I turn to max (240C) and when the oven hits 220-240 C it is ready. I have never sliced my loaves before freezing, but I have just put a batch of sourdough out to prove (equal quantities strong white, wholemeal wheat and rye) and this time I’ll slice one of the loaves before freezing and try toasting it.

Final comment on this age thing. On Tuesday I shot clays. On the range were two guys in their late eighties. They looked as though they needed sticks not shotguns. Both shot better than anyone else present. As my first boss used to say “Old age and cunning will always beat youth and enthusiasm”.

Good afternoon, this quiet day on 5:2.
I’m concentrating on a healthy eating mindful day. It is very cold and grey and drizzly outside, but I have plenty to do inside and I have been quite productive.

Penguin, I am similar with bread, even though I just make one loaf because it is just me. I cut it in half and freeze half, and I keep the half I am using in the fridge since I eat it as toast (except maybe when I first cut it) over a week. Then I thaw the other one and keep it for toast for the next week!

And I make bulk recipes and freeze most of them so this resistant starch research is very pleasing for me!

LJ, good luck finding that table. Gumtree is a good idea if Ikea doesn’t come through.

Thin, haha re the letterbox measure.
I hope the extra water might help you warm up, it is such an easy and cheap solution!

I’m hoping we hear from Merry soon, too.

Best wishes all

Cinque, it was a quiet day here yesterday. I checked in but, as there’d been nothing since my last post, I kept going. I’ll report back on the water solution after tomorrow’s fast. How is the business plan coming along?

Good to know there’s been a Merry sighting, thanks Penguin.

Freshly baked bread with lashings of butter! I try not to think about it, it’s a thing of the past for me. I ate too much rice at a Japanese restaurant last night. It was a set menu and it just appeared. I passed some over to OH but not before I’d already eaten too much without thinking. Next time, engage brain.

Thin, I like your letter box limit. Thankfully my bins go next to mine – probably stopped the neighbours thinking I was crazy – just forgetful. I did rememer this week.

Cinque, if those patties work out can you post the recipe.

After a couple of hours at Ikea yesterday choosing lounge storage, I decided that my best coffee table option was one I’d seen at Domain for $149. The wood is the wrong colour but I will eventually develop enough enthusiasm for sanding it back and staining it the colour I want. I have put the coffee table flat pack together, now I just have 20 ikea boxes to deal with – I kid you not, there are 20! I’m having a cuppa while I search for the energy to tackle it.

After a very bad food day yesterday I had a night of abnomonal pain and a bout of IBS – haven’t had that in ages. Today I’m fasting and I feel a bit better already, but I know I’ll need to be quite careful with fat and fibre intake for a few days. I will need to be careful at tomorrow’s afternoon tea for my uncle’s birthday as everything is likely to be high fat – everything I’ve made for it is.

Hope you are all having a good weekend.

Penguin and Merry, so glad to hear that you and your OHs were able to get together on Merry’s trip to the UK. I expect we’ll hear from Merry any day now.

Thin, I doubt you could do that much damage with rice in a Japanese restaurant in one meal. You don’t see many overweight Japanese and they eat rice with most meals. Well, actually with all the western junk food that makes it over there, there are probably more heavy people there now. Fast food like McDonalds seem to be everywhere. I couldn’t understand how they could be so crowded in France all the time when the French have such wonderful traditional dishes.

FD Thursday and I weighed in at 59 the following morning. I think I may have made up for it with too much snacking the following day. I’m having too many snacking NFDs. Maybe it’s sometimes nerves. My DS ordered me a book called, “How to Survive the End of the World (When it’s in Your Own Head)“ by Aaron Gillies, a British author. The reviews says it a humorous book with a little self help stuff in it. The titles made me laugh. I think it’s being shipped from the UK because it could take a couple weeks to arrive.

Cinque, good to hear you’re working on the jumper for your second granddaughter. Best to keep busy at it so your DD doesn’t have to have a 3rd one! 😁

LJ, I like IKEA and their furniture is pretty easy to assemble, but you’re right abount to number of boxes. We have 3 of their Poang Chairs in different parts of the house. With the footstools that go with them, they’re such comfortable chars. And I love that the cushion covers zip off and are washable. With the ivory colored covers the get dirty fairly fast.