Quacka, yep, like a dog with a bone! But also, because I’m afraid my memory is getting so bad, I sometimes feel the need to verify just how bad! Pleased to hear that your FD went well. I once read that the biggest selling books are cook books, closely followed by diet books! I have so many recipe books but rarely use them, instead turning to the internet to enter a few ingredients on hand and seeing what pops up!

Lindsay, I enjoyed your long posts, not rants! I hope you and your car each got a nice makeover ready for work! You may be disappointed to learn that our lizards are captive-bred, not wild. It’s a controversial WA state initiative to increase awareness of herpetofauna by encouraging ownership. You cannot take them from the wild, nor can you release them into the wild. You must have a licence and it’s all a bit of a rigamarole keeping records, etc. You can only transfer them through a licensed dealer.

When DD got Rocky, her first lizard, she was too young to have a licence. But when she turned 14, she wanted to have the herpetofauna licence in her name to improve her chances of getting into vet school (along with her mahoot training certificate from the university of Laos and a few other unusual ideas she had!). You wouldn’t believe what we had to go through to transfer ownership of Rocky from me to her. He wasn’t even leaving home! Psycho is so-named because she was completely mad when we first got her but she can now be handled easily and has settled down into motherhood producing two sets of twins, Norbert and Monty and, more recently, Gordon and Bennett. The species is teliqua rugosa rugosa. Sorry, too much information perhaps for a fasting forum!

Intesha, thanks for the heads up on, “Intelligence”. I’m enjoying it. Did your dad survive his week without you OK?

Cinque, what happened to your post today? Did you have a good post-FD? I hope so. That’s about it from me, oh, we came 1st at bridge today! Always a bonus.

FD today 70.5 this morning so down from yesterday.

Too many posts for me to respond to but Lindsay your description of your holiday bought back memories of when my children were little and Mum and Dad had a caravan. What wonderful times we had going to Nelsons Bay and Broadbeach when the Casino wasn’t there.

Anzac and Quacka such lovely times with friends and family I miss having family around. My friend in Melbourne lived in Richmond when we were growing up and there were lots of Greeks in the area and her Mum would sometimes cook Greek dishes.

Yesterday after I came back from visiting Mum and shopping about 3pm I found Dad face down on his bedroom floor. He had overbalanced and fell off. He is a big man and his left leg is practically useless. He said he had only been there 10 mins but who knows. I went to get a neighbour but he is not well and we could not get Dad up. Finally used his Vitalcall to get help.

Dad was on the floor for 4 hours and no ambulance came as they were busy, which is understandable as this was not a life threatening situation. Finally managed to get my ex-husband and another neighbour to get him up. Feel completely washed out this morning but Dad is okay. He is getting ready to go down and see Mum.

Thin glad you are enjoying Intelligence.

Good morning,
Although Intesha, what a terrible thing for your dad, and for you, to go through. Just awful that when you called for help, it didn’t come. That is shameful.
It does sound amazing that he is up and capable of going to visit your mum this morning, that is excellent news. I hope you can give yourself a gentle recovery morning.

It is a grey morning in Melbourne, but warmer. Awful to see the extreme heatwaves and fires up North and the big storms coming to the Sydney area.

I am going to visit my friend in the country today. I usually go on a Fast Day so it was weird to have breakfast. I have been a bit too busy than is good for me, and it is beginning to catch up. Yesterday I went to a forum on ‘The Power of Food’ in the city that was very good and worth the effort. Hence no post. I miss saying hello to everyone as I start my day.

So I need to be quick because I am moving quite slowly (I know that doesn’t make sense!)

Toys: I do so agree about supply and demand. I have a lovely story to tell about friends, back in the 70’s, who lived on a little farm. They realised all the (continual) fights the kids had were over toys, so they got rid of them all, and the fights stopped and the kids spent their time outside playing.
When my daughter was little I loved the toy library, I could get a new batch of toys for her each week, and then give them back when she had got sick of them.
But I still used to feel that toys just poured into the house through every opening. I felt like I was braced at the front door, trying to stop more stuff from getting in!

Still do, with other ‘stuff’ like you describe Lindsay. Just have to keep shovelling it out!

And I SO agree with you about politics. If only we put power into the hands of wise people, but we rarely get even one of them! All power to your community fighting the pokies.

I hope Mr L’s appt went well.

Quacka, it was my friend’s own mother who cooked their evening meal for them every work night. Such a wonderful gift that I am not sure she completely appreciated.
Congratulation on your filo triangles. The first time is always the hardest. I love filo SO much better than puff pasty. I feel puff pastry takes over! But filo highlights the filling.
It is hard when there are leftover sheets of filo, they don’t last long in the fridge and can get soggy in the freezer, it leads me to a) use plenty of sheets in my recipe, and b) use up the rest anyhow, like folding a sheet in half, sprinkling one half of that with grated carrot, grated cheese, chopped spring onions etc, fold over, brush with butter and bake until golden. very rustic but a great accompaniment for a bowl of soup, or a plate of salad.

School nights…. well we all had school nights once upon a time!

LJoyce, your poor inflamed knees and hips, and there is the cat using you like an electric blanket!

I will take a picture of Miso to show you all, Thin. She is a pretty little black and gold cat. So lovely to read about your lizards.

Anzac, what a wonderful family celebration! And another one, at your home, for Christmas. Do enjoy planning!
I am a great cookbook reader, from my local libraries. They were life savers when I was too ill to concentrate on my usual books. I learn so much history and geography and culture, reading recipe books from all around the world.
If I wanted to try a recipe I would write it in an exercise book (so I would need to want it enough to do that!). I have filled 7 or 8 recipe books and often look through them at all those recipes I haven’t tried yet, but still would like to! And I am finally making a folder of my tried and true recipes, as they were getting very hard to find, otherwise!

i have also read that fasting can help when having chemotherapy. there was a catalyst program about it, and the wonderful Robyn Williams talked about fasting as he went through chemotherapy for bowel cancer.

Thin, I love hearing about your lizards and seeing the wonderful things DD is doing.

Ooh, it is past 8. Must go.

Oh yes, this is a thread about 5:2 😉
It is day before fast day for me, I am eating good and normally after some overeating days last week. Nice to get the heavy feeling out of my tum!
Looking forward to my fast day tomorrow.

Best wishes to everyone.

8.30am on a cloudy, humid day in Sydney. They are forecasting up to 150mm of rain tomorrow! I’ve checked the forecast for the Hunter Valley for Saturday and unfortunately it is looking sunny and hot – around 30-32 degrees. My friend is not supposed to go out in the sun due to her treatments so we will find some shade under some trees until nightfall while my OH keeps a spot closer to the stage.

FD for me and it is needed. I’m up 400g this morning after too much eating on the weekend and then, despite my brave plan to have a very controlled NFD yesterday, my Dad and Nephew came for dinner so of course we had a big meal and there was leftover dessert from Saturday and I had some. But today will see the back of all that.

How terrifying and frightening for you and your Dad Intesha. I’m sorry help took so long to come and I hope he doesn’t suffer any consequences from the fall. We are both on a FD today and I’m determined to make it a good one.

Thin, thanks for the info about fasting and cancer. I will share it with my friend for sure. I love your picture of your DD on the elephant! Such a happy and sweet photo.

Quacka, I too read a recipe and then adjust it as I find many recipes are catering to mainstream taste and can be bland so I like to spice it up or add some ingredients to give the maximum flavor. I often read two or three recipes for the same dish and mix and match

LJ, sorry your FD was challenging yesterday but you still stuck to 500 calories and that’s all you need to do. Enjoy your morning tea with your neighbours today

Cinque I would be interested to hear more about the forum you went to yesterday when you have some time. Enjoy your visit to your friend in the country today

Lindsay, I hope you OH’s appointment shows more improvement and good luck with winning the fight against the poker machines. They are terrible things and so many people get addicted. I have friends who spend so much money on the dratted, evil machines.

Ok, time for some work. Have a great day

Anzac, we were posting together! Happy FD x

Hey Quacka, don’t feel bummed. It all sounded healthy and not over the top?

I agree that it is easier to support each other if we know a little bit about each other. Everyone is different when it comes to how much to share but even small things can help to understand what and why people are going through something – either good or bad.

FD going well. I had about 10 grapes at 11.00am and just polished off my salad. I could eat another three of them of course but will have a coffee soon. I have a nectarine for this afternoon then my normal chilli mince vege mix tonight in lettuce leaves.

Hope everyone is having a fab Tuesday 🙂 I’m off for my lunch time walk now

Thin and Intesha, our posts crossed (I hadn’t refreshed my screen).

Thin, I have to agree about politicians and local council are the worst. I have stories that would make your eyes water after renovating for years and years plus tragic tales from friends and family. I no longer discuss politics with anyone and if one of their ugly heads pop up on tv I either turn it off or walk away! I come from a very political family who are so far one sided their party could declare war on 2 year old children and they would still nod wisely and say they are the only party that anyone should vote for.

I write ‘I vote for the alien from bugs bunny for PM’ or similar when I get forced to vote.

There, we have jointly ranted!

Glad your FD is going well too Intesha and also glad your Dad is ok

Thanks Anzac. I think I am just having an eating day today, no mention of fast in it. I had my other two triangles for morning tea and then I just had cucumber cherry tomatoes and a can of smoked salmon for lunch. Then a punnet of raspberries.
Ummm I need to stop now! I don’t feel over full still so I’m not sure what is going on. I am probably trying to sabotage myself because I am looking like achieving my goal.
Such terrible mind games…..
Oh well, tomorrow is another day and I have a plan in place for Thursday. I will not beat myself up about eating, I will just say today I am listening to what my body needs! It is saying food! Arghhhhh

Too right Anzac!

Guess what just happened. One of the girls’ boyfriends just brought in a huge packet of doughnuts (the terrible supermarket kind) and she is now in the process of trying to get us all to eat some. Luckily I don’t like doughnuts of any kind but especially the supermarkets ones!

The 5:2 gods are not playing kind with me today!

BLERGH….chemicals packaged as ‘food’

I’m with you Quacka – I don’t like donuts very much and absolutely hate the supermarket ones. A cinnamon one that has just been cooked is ok but anything else is like chewing old hand-towels.

So in fact you are lucky they bought those instead of something that truly tempted you 🙂

I’ve just had emails bouncing around between all the gang going to the Hunter Valley about what ‘nibbles’ are being taken. Chips, nuts, dips, crackers, twisties are top of the long long list of rubbish that I’m afraid my friends enjoy. I can’t resist temptation when they are in front of me so this is going to be an EFS on top of an EFS weekend. I’m not going to kid myself that I will eat nothing but carrot sticks and lean protein but I do hereby declare to my fast-friends that I will TRY VERY HARD to stick to the better offerings (most of which I’m taking)

Lindsay, that is good to hear about your OH. You said you’ve reached a significant milestone recently, maybe retirement would be perfect timing given OH’s situation. Isn’t he funny about the politician statement. So true. Our local council has full community consultation – they make the decision and then we can have our say – which they ignore. Don’t confuse me with facts, my mind is made up.

Intesha, I was thinking after I sent my post that your dad could have fallen in between some furniture and got wedged in somehow especially if he’s a big man as you describe. Poor thing, it must be so awful to be facing down increasing instability – no wonder you do all those pilates core body exercises yourself.

Quacka, you have cracked me up again by taking that photo of the doughnut ingredients. Did you do that on the sly or while the girl was trying to convince you to eat one? You are so funny. I totally empathise with your self-sabotaging. Just ask CalifD – we both do it all the time, right CalifD? Just think how far you’ve come though, eat away today – tomorrow will be different.

GDSA, tradie/delivery frustration. It can’t get much worse. Interested that you’ve also read that research about cancer/prolonged fasting.

Anzac, hope your FD has gone well so far. I hope you have a brilliant weekend with your friends and that the one who’s had the chemo can enjoy repairing her body through 5:2 at least. Still behind in replying but I’ve read and enjoyed everything so much. Agree, the little crumbs we get thrown as people reveal more about themselves help us to gel better & offer support. I just wish I could remember who said what – I used to be pretty good at that when I first got here. The group we have here now is just perfect – thank you all.

CalifD, DD was learning to become a mahoot so controlling an elephant so it can ultimately co-operate with any care it may need and bathing in the river, etc. She was 15 or 16, I can’t believe how comfortably she just sits up there when it’s going down a steep embankment. The mahoot certificate came from the University of Laos and, from memory, they were rescue elephants. All a bit surreal looking back but having that on her resume was the reason the vet hospital hired her for Saturdays starting in high school. One of the vets said, “that girl has more on her resume than I do”.

Good luck with the next eye surgery. I’m guessing you’ll be quite relaxed about it all having been through the whole thing before? Have fun decorating the tree(s). Can’t even contemplate Christmas yet and just ignoring all the build-up in the stores right now. I’m a grinch.

69.4 after yesterdays FD. 6.26am here in Sydney, raining and thunder. Rain seems to be increasing. Not sure if I will venture out to the gym this morning will see what the weather is like in another hour or so.

Supposed to be going to my grand children’s school tonight for an award presentation but again not sure how safe the roads are going to be as it is 50km away.

How is it at your place Anzac?

Hi again, the rain has not eased one bit. People are starting to arrive at work drenched and full of stories about flooding and other chaos that is happening out there

Thin, I would like to do the Christmas challenge but I don’t know the details. Could you explain it please? It sounds like fun and a good way to stop from going crazy food-drink-wise over the festive period. I have two weeks off and it will be social so I know I will need some motivation to keep it all in check

Cali, sorry to hear you have another eye surgery coming up. I hope it all goes well and you heal quickly.

I bet your Christmas tree looks beautiful. We don’t dare to put one up this year with Mad Maxx in his current adolescent state of mind . Here is yesterday’s carnage https://imgur.com/a/qMYtNhf.
To say OH is cranky is an understatement. One of us (ahem I think it was me) forgot to put the piece of wood back that stops him from nosing open the sliding door to the shoe cupboard. Oh dear. He also got one of my sandshoes and ate part of the innersole but I managed to salvage it. They are special to me as I got them in Hanoi for about $8 about 7 years ago and they are the most comfy sneakers I’ve ever had.

Lindsay, I’m in the same boat as you about work. It has always been very important to me and had we decided to have children OH was always going to be the one to stay home. He doesn’t work anymore and looks after the house and Maxx and I as well as renovating. However lately work is a chore (just as you said) and I would love to retire and move down the south coast and set up a little café. But that would be the end of our travelling and for now that has a higher priority. So I should just get on with it right! I hope the new glasses really help your hubby.

Gday, you must be completely over tradies but just think how nice it will be when the shed/indoor gym is all finished

I too have an exercise book for my own recipes Cinque, but I am terrible about remembering to write them up once I have finessed them so it is a short read currently. I plan to do lots of updates over the Christmas break.

My FD didn’t end well, I had some nibbles at home and ended up at about 700 calories. Grrr. The scales still dipped 200g and hopefully a mindful NFD today and a better FD tomorrow will set me up with a good loss to counteract the upcoming weekend.

Happy Birthday, Quacka! http://www.atorontoflorist.ca/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/birthdayflowersdelivery.jpg Hope you are having a wonderful day, even in the rain. We’re getting rain again here too, probably for the next several days.

Thin, even though I’m excited to get my other cataract removed and a new lens put in (finally!) andthe other one was an easy surgery, I still feel stressed about it. I don’t know why, I guess I’m just a professional worrier. 😁 After reading all that Lindsay’s OH has been through, this will be a walk in the park. I need to learn to relax.

Anzac, your upcoming weekend sounds fun. I’ve been a bit out of control the past couple of weeks with food too, with the holidays starting and getting together with friends. I’ve done 2 FD each week, but have been snacking and eating too much on NFDs. I’m barely into the 59’s this morning after yesterday’s FD. Thin’s Silly Season Challenge can start none too soon!

Thin, you did a wonderful job on writing your book. I’ve been reading it between all the other goings on. Some of it is dated, but most is still applicable today. You should do a revised edition. There’s certainly a lot that could be added with all the airbnb type orgainizations, how they work, which are reliable, how they’re governed in different countries, etc. You’re a good writer. If not that, you should think about writing something else.

I finished watching The Americans (about the KGB and Russians) I thoroughly enjoyed the whole 6 season show and was glad it was now on Amazon Prime for streaming so I could binge watch the last 2 seasons. I don’t normally like a lot of violence in shows or movies, but I guess this kind of falls into the category of The Sopranos, which I watched years ago. Was that one available there?

Well, still lots of things that involve lifting that I want to get done before tomorrow, so I’ll check back here later.

Happy Birthday Quacka!
https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51yAmdFoIKL.jpg
Best wishes for a wonderful day!

Eep to everyone stuck in the Sydney Armageddon. Stay safe! I’m glad you got to work safely Anzac.

Thanks for the interest in the ‘Power of Food’ event I went to. Read about it here 🙂 http://www.yamdaisy.com/the-power-of-food/ It isn’t long, but I thought a link would be best. There is also a link to the youtube video of the whole event.
Freakiest facts:
43% of our veggie intake is potato chips
Uber Eats has more orders for Macca chips than anything else

Lindsay, I am so glad Mr L’s appt showed his eyes are healing well, but it is so hard that he can’t read or write. Will it depend on what glasses can do?
More good wishes and crossed fingers.
Well done to your community (and you, spokesperson!) turning out in force. It is little people fighting such a huge power that it must be a long and hard fight and every protest is so important.

Cali, it is Wednesday today here already so you must be getting ready for your op as soon as Wednesday gets around to your part of the world. I will light a candle full of wishes for an easy straightforward operation. Exciting.
I hope you get all the lights done.

Anzac, that Maxx! Destructo! Sigh. Oh well, they say that the dreadful events make for great stories (and photos).

Best wishes to everyone dealing with tradies and struggling with work. It is a bad time of year for both, I think.

It is Fast Day for me. I am proving myself Gemini with one part of me missing my meals and wanting to nibble, and the other side reminding me to go zen, how much I love being lighter, how wonderful it is to ride the wave on fast days, and how quickly the day will pass.

And I can even sneak in a second pot of coffee, so really, I have nothing to complain about!
Good day, from warm breezy Melbourne 9:50am

Edit: Just read your post Cali, sending even more good wishes. It is natural to be stressed. I’m glad it will be over soon. xxx

Anzac, thanks for posting that Maxx pic. DD sometimes brings one of the uni greyhounds for the weekend (the uni rescues them from being put down when the racing industry discards them). I sold a pair of leather boots on gumtree and the buyer happened to be a student there so I arranged for my DD to meet her on campus with the boots. She first returned the greyhound but, while getting her some water, the other greyhound nosed under the fence, grabbed the boots and completely destroyed one of them. It looked a lot like your OH’s boot.

The Silly Season Challenge is just another thread and it’s to keep us accountable during the Christmas period. Sometimes just saying it out loud helps us stick to a plan. You can find them under my profile, then ‘topics started’. I’ll put the new one up on Saturday. Most people already contribute to other threads so we tend to keep our posts more brief and on topic. Some people pledge just to maintain their weight over the period until 1 Jan. In the past, I would always gain about 3kg over Christmas and then spend January totally depressed about it, lose maybe one kg back and then forget about it …..

Lindsay, good job for speaking out and getting your message into print. What a fun time you have to look forward to at Christmas. My best Christmases were the ones where I escaped the whole thing.

Must go, more fragmented posting today.

Sorry to hear about your shoe delivery Quacka, I hope the shoes themselves were not ruined? I hope they could all be salvaged.

What a lovely gift! So glad you are having a nice birthday despite the weather

What is it with dogs and shoes Thin? I posted the same picture on the My Labrador Friends forum (the only other forum I’m on) and so many people came back with their own ruined shoe stories. And then Quacka’s shoes were (almost?) ruined too. Strange coincidence. I’m looking forward to the Christmas Challenge Thin, thanks for putting it up

I’m in a bit of an eating mood today due to a horrible commute and broughaha with a fellow passenger that I wont bore you with but it has made me down in the dumps. Have had a few cookies and crackers which helped for about 10 seconds but then of course you feel worse. GAH

Cinque I simply can’t believe:
Freakiest facts:
43% of our veggie intake is potato chips
Uber Eats has more orders for Macca chips than anything else

What? And if you have to eat hot chips why eat skinny horrible Maccas ones? They taste like oil…from memory, I haven’t had maccas for about 10 years and only then because we broke down on our way to the Hunter Valley, right outside a roadside maccas and decided to have some. Reminded us why we don’t eat it. Plastic food.

Hope your FD is going well LJ

Cali, any surgery, no matter how small is scary. Just think how nice it will be when you are all healed and your sight is better.

Lindsay – Christmas in Hong Kong and then Scotland! How fantastic! It will be a lovely break and especially from the stress of entertaining so many people – 2 days in a row.

The weather has calmed down a bit, I can now see blurry buildings through the office window but I just read it is going to worsen again just in time for the commute home. I’ll make sure I visit the loo just before leaving as there could be a very long trip home on the train. That comes from previous experience; when I left work one day and thought ‘hmmm, should pop to the loo….nah, i’ll be right’ then the train got stuck for 2 hours. OOPS

OK back again just quickly.

Anzac the shoes were a little damp but the problem becomes if they go mouldy when they are stored. We will be leaving them out to air for quite a long time and see what happens, not that having them out to air today is helping any!

It is tradition at our work to have a birthday cake for any of the staff celebrating their birthday and as I am not much of a sweet eater I always get a cheese dip and goodies platter instead. I have eaten so much dip and cheese, olives, salami and crackers that I actually feel sick in the tummy. I do it every year and I was going to just ask for a cake this year as I can control myself with that. I would have had a very small piece and then just ate a normal lunch and been happy. I haven’t had any (extra) lunch today but we have been eating this platter all day. My tummy is protesting.

I’m looking forward to not eating all day tomorrow and then just having dinner at the Christmas dinner. It will be a mini FD although I suspect it will end up more than 500 calories but at least my tummy will have had a break all day!
Back to normal next week with two FDs. Yay!

Well back to work for me. Hope everyone is having a great day so far and I hope you get home safely and quickly Anzac. Stay safe everyone x

Feeling much better already. Had about 1.5 litres of water and just stopped eating!! My tummy is happy again. I have even been walking past the leftovers all afternoon and have managed to stay away 🙂

CalifD, thank you for your kind comments. I don’t know a soul who’s read that whole book, it’s very dry. No plans to write another, it was an experience, I learned a lot, I’ve done it, moved on. Just saw your post above, funny that.

Quacka, I laughed so hard at your thinking about asking for a cake instead of the platter & dips since you would be able to resist it! That was just so funny. Don’t worry, as Anzac said, it is your birthday after all. What a romantic OH you have. I hope you enjoy the rest of your birthday guilt-free.

Gosh, that weather sounds shocking over there. We’re having a sunny, 27C. Just about perfect. I hope you all get home safely and, Intesha, maybe you’re better off staying home.

FD for me, haven’t eaten a thing yet and it’s 4pm. I’ve had a busy day and didn’t have a chance to contemplate my soup at 2pm so now I think I’ll just have that for dinner.

Cinque, how’s your FD going? Miso soup?

Anzac, what is a broughaha? I get the picture since it made you down in the dumps but I’ve never heard that expression. Seems odd that it ends in ‘ha ha’ when it didn’t make you laugh. Oh yes, those dogs and shoes …..

I’m sure there were other things I wanted to say but, when I get back here, there are more posts (of course) and I’ve forgotten who I wanted to say what to.

Hi Betsylee, welcome to the forum. You will get plenty of advice and support here. It is an amazing group you have joined and someone will always have an answer to your questions.

Weight this morning 69.3 but not for long. Today is usually an FD but it is the nursing homes Xmas party today and then tonight my grandsons graduation from pre-school so dinner with the family at the club prior to that. I will just have to do mindful eating for the next few days and an FD on Sunday.

I did go to my granddaughters presentation night. As soon as I hit the freeway I was regretting it. The heavens opened and I couldn’t see the road in front of me but 10 mins down the road and it cleared 🙄🙄

Gym this morning so a full day ahead.

Hope Anzac and Quacka got through the deluge okay.

7.45am in Sydney. Cold and windy

Hello Betsylee – welcome! This is the most amazing forum and you will be welcomed and given lots of fantastic advice and support and friendship

I am fairly new too, so I will leave it to the wise owls to give you starting advice. One thing I found though was when I first started I tried to do breakfast of fruit, skip lunch then have dinner. However I found that as soon as I ate in the morning I was really hungry so I switched and now I fast from dinner the night before until about 11.00am where I have a piece of fruit and then lunch of a salad and small amount of lean protein for lunch. I then have dinner when I get home from work at around 5.30 and this is either a stir fry of veges and small amount of protein or a mince + vege mix. Some people, including my sister, fast all day and have their whole 500 cals at night. Everyone is different and you will need to try a few different ways until you find the right one. The first few will be TOUGH but then it gets easier. I have this written on a piece of paper under my keyboard at work, along with an unflattering picture of myself, that I refer to on FD’s:

1. Fast days are NOT negotiable
2. It’s just one day. Tomorrow you can eat normally
3. The hunger will wane (it really does)
4. Fast days get easier and will eventually be a breeze
5. Imagine going clothes shopping and thinking ‘wow that looks good’ when looking in the dressing-room mirror, instead of cringing and quietly crying

Now I sound like an expert but I am still having struggles every week. I’ve been doing 5:2 for 10 weeks and have lost about 4 kilos which is good but not great but I am sticking to it.

Glad the storms have passed but how sad that 3 people lost their lives yesterday – including a 14 year old boy. Tragic. I made it home easily as my lovely boss urged me to leave early to avoid peak hour

Thin, a broughaha is a confrontation or argument. As someone who runs away from conflict I hated what happened. I stuck up for myself but I didn’t enjoy it

Cali, ‘Maxx’s first Chews’!! Hysterical! I think OH has already thrown them out but otherwise I would have done it.

The weather certainly is crazy. I had to dig out a warm jacket yesterday and today and we are 11 days from Summer! And then on the weekend it is going to be very hot (especially in the Hunter Valley) and my friend who is having the cancer treatment is stressing because she isn’t supposed to have too much exposure to sunlight and we will be sitting outside in a winery listening to the bands. I was able to reassure her that there are trees at the back of the venue and us girls can go and sit there while the boys mind the spot closer to the stage. We can all sit there once it cools down late afternoon.

Enjoy the Christmas party and presentation Intesha. Busy day indeed! Glad you made it in that dreadful deluge last night, it must have been terrifying to drive in it.

Glad you are feeling better Quacka. I was going to join you in a semi FD today by fasting all day then having a normal dinner but I woke up this morning and just knew it wasn’t going to happen. I need to get this weekend out of the way and then get my head down and back on track. I have so much to do – packing, shopping etc and no time to do it. Stress!

So my goal of getting into the 86’s before the weekend did not happen. 87.7 this morning which is disappointing, but I’m not dwelling on it and looking forward to getting back on track next week.

Good Morning everyone and a warm welcome to you Betsylee. You have made an awesome decision to do 5:2 and also to join us here. Good luck for your first FD and it will get easier, don’t worry.

I laughed thin when you said I had a romantic OH. He is the most unromantic person I know lol. We have been together 22 years and he rarely buys me gifts. I know romance is not about gift giving but it is nice to receive one from him. This is the second year in a row he has bought me a birthday present and he also bought me a charm for Christmas last year. Before that I can’t remember the last time he bought me a present. To be fair I can buy whatever I want/need whenever I like and he doesn’t mind.

The rain didn’t cause me any problems apart from the wet cartons. Cinque, I don’t run a shoe business but I am a stock manager for a shoe business. My bosses have two stores and I control the stock for both of them. We used to have three stores but have recently sold one.

So my weight this morning is up a whole kg from yesterdays but I was expecting it so I’m not worried. I am going to try not to eat today until I go to our Christmas dinner tonight but I feel like I am going to struggle. I have almost succumbed at least three times this morning already. I have just had a nice black coffee so we will see how I go over the next few hours. If it gets to lunch time and I can’t stand it I will go and get one of those konjac noodle meals. They are expensive but only about 160 calories. Otherwise just eat and do my two normal FDs next week. I really feel that when I am not doing a proper (non-negotiable) FD and my mind is not in the right place, I struggle with the semi FD. Can you tell by how much I have waffled on about it? lol

I hope you all have a lovely and safe day. Looking forward to reading more of your posts x

Hello Betsylee and welcome. You’ll get lots of good advice and support in this wonderful forum. It’s a way of life that takes just a little getting used to, but once you’re in the swing, it becomes remarkably easy. Chocolate and wine (and many many more things) are a weakness for me too, but I find if I always leave enough calories to have one square of Lindt dark chocolate on fast days, it’s enough. Once you do a FD or two, the results will motivate you to keep going. And yes, as Thin says, I practise a form of intermittent fasting along with 5:2. I never ever ever eat within 12 hours of finishing my evening meal, and try to make it 16 (ie if I finish eating at 7, I have my first meal of the day after 11 am). It suits me – I’ve always struggled with breakfast, but have eaten it for years as a family meal, and then to keep OH company. Now the kids are adults, and OH quite likes just tea and toast, and eating with me later if I’m home.
And Anzac, 4 kilos is not to be sneezed at! Well done. I bet you can see and feel what a difference 4 kilos makes.
Calif hope you are recovering well and the op wasn’t too traumatic. Take care of yourself now, won’t you?
Tradie update …. the company finally found someone who came to lay the carpet, but he came alone (furniture to move, and I’d paid for two carpet layers). Anyway he got the job done. I was at work – and when I got home the room looks lovely..but the carpet’s the wrong colour. This project was doomed from go to woe.
Cinque I read your YamDaisy post. Such a great project, and so very interesting. I was also shocked though – can you believe people actually phone a delivery service to bring chips/fries? Yikes. And not even good fat chips, but greasy processed Maccas?
Off now to buy a mirror to sit over the drawer/cupboard/dressing table thing in my bedroom. Oh it will look so nice, now the painting is done and the carpet laid. My painter is back on Saturday to start the other half of the interior so he’ll put it up for me. My plan before Christmas is to clean out every drawer, every cupboard, every basket, every shelf in my bedroom/ensuite. I feel lighter just thinking about it.