@Anzac and Minka, I’m a dog lover too! Unfortunately hub is allergic so I don’t have one at the moment.
@minka your dress is lovely and summery , just right for your slim silhouette ! I confess to loving shops and clothes too !
Minka, you didn’t say what star sign you are.

Anzac, I loved reading Maxx’s antics at dog beach. The best part about dog beaches is that all dogs are off leash so there aren’t any issues like at the park where some dogs are on the leash and others not. So he can’t upset anyone and he will learn a lot. And in a few months, when you and OH have undergone your training (he he), Maxx will be a very well-behaved dog!

CalifD, I’m 5′ 6″ also. I’ve been afraid to measure lately actually as I have probably lost height over the years. Yes, the April exam. She intended to take it last October but was working in India during the registration period and had to also declare in which US State to register – all have different rules about the length of validity and whether it’s transferable – and she only had sporadic internet access when squatting on the side of the road near the facility with mad bus drivers almost knocking her off the road, so it was all too hard, hence now the additional $80 p/m to extend the study materials. Thank you Anzac, for your kind wishes.

Anzac, where I lived in California, there’s only a 17° difference in temperature year round. We rarely needed to turn on the heating. But being a long, skinny state, the further north you go, the colder it gets in winter. Most of the movies are probably filmed around, or depicting, LA – that’s quite far south in the scheme of things. I, too, wish I’d discovered 5:2 years ago but you are still young enough to make a real and lasting difference to your health and longevity – and I know you will.

Rosy – are you all ready for a 38C day tomorrow? Yuk. Early walk and then staying cool in the air-con for me.

LJ, those roast veggies look delicious. I use a lot of cumin.

Minka, yes, we were going to wear our retro dresses. Unfortunately, my DD kept telling me that I looked like I was time travelling when I wore mine (from before I was married). They felt lovely but I must accept that I definitely look my age and have to be realistic. So I recently sold them on gumtree and laughed when the girl who came to try them on was about DD’s age – and absolutely loved them! I have just checked out your link since submitting my post as I was afraid to before. The dress is lovely. 50% off is a worthwhile saving. My least favourite kind of sale is the silly “50% off the second item”. Are there actually people around who don’t realise this means 25% off?

Rosy mentioned Review. I went to a Review outlet to get a bolero cardigan before Christmas. They’re always $99, just like in the Myer Review, and rarely on sale. I mentioned to the girl that I was going to wait until I could get it on sale. They only had black. She said if I bought THREE, I could get 20% off! I couldn’t believe the stupidity of that reasoning. I didn’t want to spend $99 but I would happily spend $240 to own three of the same colour? Incredulous, I said that to her and her reply was that I would never get more off than that! In the end, I got something from ebay for $13.

I’m with you about only buying clothes on sale – anywhere – but especially Myer where I usually shop. Yep, the dress I bought for DD’s graduation was further discounted after Christmas but my size wasn’t there and I’d already got a substantial amount off, so all was OK. Wow, I was intrigued to read what you wrote about living in one of only two nature reserves in Australia. Sounds like a dream. Although I’d rather live in an area where no children were allowed, than no dogs. I guess they have those too but they’re for old people, ha ha!

Good morning from beautiful, fresh Melbourne.

I had a better sleep, delightedly broke my fast after a fasty fast day (I wake up hungry) and am currently enjoying a very nice coffee.

All ready to respond to reams of posts!

LJoyce, those strawberry cupcakes are gorgeous. You must be THE best great auntie! And that cumin tray bake is so inspiring I am planning to try it today (like you, I will avoid any par boiling).
I do hope your dear friend is doing well.

Lucybron, I am so glad the stiffness is settling down, just in time for your next HIIT 😉
Chickpea curry. Yum.
Another cake decorator! There are definite themes on this thread.

Thin, I had a great fast day, although I was all gripey and couldn’t concentrate in the afternoon, which seems to be my way. I really enjoyed that miso soup! Handing you the baton.
I still know what day it is, even though it has changed. Yay. Good brain. (Glad I am not the only one, Cali!)
My fridge is extremely full, which I am finding a little bit stressful. Luckily the family lunch will clear it a bit!

Merry, dear Merry, Happy New Year. Congratulations on the loss, a success indeed. Hooray that you get a bit of easy time soon!

Rosy Posy, into the 60’s Woot! We should get you to guess which star sign we each are! Clue, I am double trouble!

Hi Anzac, enjoy your cool weekend. Lovely to hear of the dog friendly beach. And I am glad you found 5:2 too. I know that desperate feeling of getting bigger and bigger and nothing seems to work.

Cali, it is so hard to imagine the opposite season when we are extremely hot or cold. We could happily have sent you the top 10 degrees off that heatwave! I don’t think there would have been one person in the whole of Australia who would argue!

Thanks to you and Thin I have learned about Californian weather variation, very interesting.

Minka, that lovely dress! And all linen. I love natural fibres, and so perfect for your climate. Did you get the same colours? They would suit you so well. In fact, I think the dress would look better on you than it does on the model!

Well, I think I need one more cup of coffee before I go. To the valley below. (Dylan reference. The valley below is my to-do list before my darlings arrive).

Cheers all!

Good morning everyone

The saga of the Camembert. Our friends came over yesterday afternoon and I happily got the last of our naughty Christmas nibbles out. I made a small platter of Camembert, a green olive dip, salami and cherry tomatoes from the garden. There was a small piece of Camembert remaining when my friends left and I finished it off. I was quite relieved that it was finally gone! Needless to say my weight is up this morning lol. I’m not too worried as I now have the tools to rectify that :):)

Our picnic lunch was beautiful yesterday. We went to the surf beach for a few hours until lunch time and then went around to another beach (more protected from the wind and has a creek coming out to the beach). There are lots of lovely grassy areas to put out the picnic blanket and just enjoy the view and it was so relaxing.

(thin, don’t read this paragraph!)
When we were leaving the surf beach a small red bellied black snake crossed the path right in front of me. Another step or two and I would probably have stepped on it! The path goes through some bush before you get to the car park and there was a lot of people, including kids, using that path yesterday so I’m glad no one got hurt (or hurt the snake).
Later that afternoon OH went to another place to go for a surf while I waited for our friends. There is a long winding road going through bush until you get out to the beach and we have seen a mother red belly that had been run over laying across the road out there before. There were several babies that had come out of her that were still alive so we put them over in the bush to the side of the road. I’m not sure if they would have survived as they may have been too young. I mention this story because yesterday he came across another snake in the middle of the road. This one was a diamond python and he stopped to get it out of the way. He used a stick to move it and it arced up and was ready to attack him. I don’t think he was too happy about being moved on! What are the odds of seeing two snakes in the one day? Even in a country like ours!

thin, you asked if we have caught many fish. The warmer weather has really brought our river to life so there are lots of fish around. The only problem is that the warmer weather has really brought the tourists here too (as always). The river has been packed with boats and it is difficult to fish the way we like to. We always drift and unless everyone is drifting it doesn’t really work as inevitably someone will anchor up their boat right in the way! Having said that, we have caught lots of fish each time we have gone fishing. We have only been outside (deep sea) once or twice as there has been unfavourable conditions for being out there ( too much swell or seas and winds).

I didn’t get to make the pesto yesterday so that is on my to do list today. I may also have a go at drying some basil in the dehydrator. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I hope you all have a lovely day and enjoy whatever you are doing x

A nice cool walk and even some gardening accomplished so far. As Coles doesn’t open until 11am, I have abandoned my planned FD meal and decided to ferret around the freezer and pantry for my FD meal. So, it’s miso soup, shiitake, black fungi & other mixed mushrooms, grated ginger and 50g chicken. The OFMs were already taken care of. Neighbours are back home already but as we’ll soon have the air-con going, it won’t be as bad.

I’ve seen the snake tales because I tend to read the posts backwards and didn’t see Quacka’s thoughtful warning until it was too late. Good grief LJ, snakes flipping up into the car windows – how big were they? Don’t answer that, it’s a rhetorical question. And the baby snakes being born after the mother was killed. Although I’m mildly intrigued, I’m not going to google red bellied snake. I skimmed over the final snake story and made it to the camembert saga unscathed. We, too, had a nice picnic lunch yesterday – at Kings’ Park. It’s such a peaceful place to stroll with great views of the city and river. There could be snakes, almost certainly are, but I’ve never seen one.

Morning everyone, a quick post before hub and I head out to do the grocery shop when Woollies open @ 11.00 am.
After that I am going to hunker down in the air con, do an hour on the ex bike and then chores while fasting.
@Thin , Have you been to Zafferanos, it’s a swish restaurant, the scenery, food and service sensational! We had the entertainment book discount but it still cost $110 ($153 before discount ) a couple for 1 main and 2 drinks each.

Three fasters today!

Rosy, we haven’t been to Zafferanos, I know it’s in the Old Swan Brewery. It sounds a bit out of our price range although we do have the Entertainment Book. We did one of those dance class courses once – salsa I think it was. OH is not a dancer but enjoyed it. I’m afraid it would be too tame for DD but thanks for suggesting it. In the past, we’ve given her flying lessons, sky diving, black water rafting, white water rafting, surfing lessons, snow skiing (Dubai), that kind of thing. I’m looking at kite surfing but it’s not good value with almost all the lesson on dry land.

I am fasting today also.

The heat has knocked me around a little and I feel so drained. Today has been much cooler and I have managed to do a lot more around the house. Finally threw out my wedding dress after 45 years, thought it was about time 😳. Have been sorting other things as well and getting rid of a few things.

@ljoyce, good for you going to the gym. I was always told not to lift weights in the same half of the body on consecutive days sp that the muscles had time to recover.

@ Thin, I’m with you re snakes, I have a morbid fear of them. We live near a large lake, with beautiful parks, walking and cycling paths. Unfortunately, the beautiful lake attracts those reptiles. Once I was cycling around the lake in Spring and was horrified to see a massive snake stretched across the cycle path. I lifted my legs high up above the pedals and kept saying , oh my god, my god, oh my god with my bike wobbling all over the place.
I used to work up north in the Kimberley and was jogging one night in the cool of the evening when I encountered a massive king brown snake on the road. They call them the 5 minute snake as that’s the only time left if you get bitten. I sprinted into the nearest house as the owners had young children. Their father came out and killed it. It was longer than my height of 171 cm !

When is your birthday ?

@quacka, you must be a virtuous environmentalist picking up baby snakes to save them! I would have run the opposite way!
I did a first aid course recently as hub and I often go off roading through sand dunes and along the beach north of Perth. I was told about a lady who went walking in the sand dunes on her own, either without her phone or out of range. She sadly got bitten and died. The instructors told me that she had more chance of living if she had stayed still and waited to be found, but unfortunately she walked to get help, assisting the venom to travel quickly around her body.

Re Quacka’s camembert story : I too love Camembert. When I am fasting I crave Camembert, salami and red onion of all things! This leads me to a question for everyone apart from their star sign (I know star signs are rubbish but they intrigue me).

@ Everyone, what food do you crave when you are fasting ?

Hub always says that if he only had a day to live, he would eat Cookies and Cream ice Cream non stop. I’d drink Baileys on ice cubes.

No virtue here, Rosy 🙂

I just feel so sorry that snakes are given such a bad rap when really they mostly try to avoid us! They are living animals and they don’t come seeking us to attack us, usually it is because of something stupid that we humans do.
OH has actually brought home baby snakes for me to check out that we have of course then let go. We also had a baby brown snake in our yard at our old house. The dogs were doing this weird high pitched bark and when I looked out the window I saw a long twig on the ground. No, it was a snake. I screamed and Brandy ran away immediately under the house, probably thinking she was in trouble. Maya, our deaf girl, just continued to prance around and jump over it until I got her attention and managed to get her away. OH was in the toilet at the time lol. The poor thing had to come out to dogs and missus going crazy ha ha ha ha .
Guess what he did? He picked it up. Yep! Then he asked me if I wanted to hold it. Lmao. After I told him a couple of choice words he took it down the back and flung it into the bush. Very lucky snake.

But really friends. They are not out to get us. It’s usually our own stupid actions that cause us to get bitten. Leave them alone and be very careful moving things where they may have made a home. Awareness.

Ok enough of my snake rant.

Guess my star sign, Rosy x

Rosy, we are so lucky to have a park that big and beautiful right in the city. We always take time to read some of the plaques erected for the fallen soldiers in the avenue of tall trees. It makes me so sad that some of them were only 18 years old when they made the ultimate sacrifice so that we could retain our freedom, culture and way of life. Politicians – are you listening?

Quacka, you are so right about snakes. Not that I’d be stopping to help one. In all these years, I have only come across one. Well, it definitely came across me since I was minding my own business on a towel at the water’s edge at Rottnest at the time it decided to join me on my towel. Everyone else knows about this so I’m just making sure Rosy knows too. And that lady you were told about – was she the much loved professor in Fremantle who had just nipped from her home across the dunes when she had, for years, taken the prescribed path (as if the snake knows the path)? It was very sad, she was able to tell her husband what had happened and, as he got her in the car to take her for help, she said that she feared it was too late – and it was.

I’ll check out the tree climb, thank you. LJ, you are funny – build a bear!

Intesha, I haven’t managed to throw out my wedding dress yet. Not that I’ll ever wear it again as it developed yellowish spots when stored in California for many years. You may remember when I reported that I could finally zip it up (with me in it) for the first time since my wedding. That was 3 years ago. Now I weigh less than my OH for the first time since we met. It must feel very liberating to get rid of it.

Not craving anything. But my stomach has been rumbling all day long.

Hi Thin ,my lstedt favourite thing on a hot fast day when I’m not at work I is to throw a couple of lemon slices and bruised mint leaves into a a tall glass full of ice cubes and water and to sip slowly. Very refreshing and surprisingly filling .

Rosy Posy. I live in Sydney and have been doing this WOL since February 2015. I don’t post regularly and I don’t comment very often.

My Mum is in a nursing home with dementia and I care for my 92yr old Dad. If you check my profile it will give you some background although it is not up to date.

LJ, you have been busy. I’ve had a lazy day, packing away Christmas decorations (belatedly) and a neighbour came over and hung out with us.

My miso soup was one of the best I can remember. At some point I eliminated the chicken but, now that I’ve had it again tonight, I think I will resume that. I didn’t have any Chinese cabbage so added some home grown chard and silverbeet instead. According to myfitnesspal, they are both lower in calories.

Rosy, my OH bought the mahi mahi frozen at Spuds. Do you have one near you?

Arel, nice to see you back here. Good to hear that your OH is feeling good. Can you send those chocolates over here?

Intesha, Rosy, LJ, I hope your FD went well. Cinque, I hope your family day was fun.

Lindsay, I hope you’re having so much fun – still in Ireland or now in Scotland? – that you have no time to post!

Very early Monday a.m. (haven’t been to bed yet). Not a good two NFDs over the weekend, but am starting anew tomorrow with a good FD.

Bought and read Dr M’s new book, “The Fast 800” – not a lot new, just brings together some of the more recent research. He’s now suggesting that people start on 800cals per day for a couple of weeks for rapid initial weight loss, then re-assess to see if it’s tolerable. Continue if you can, or otherwise move to the “New 5:2” which is now recommended as 800 cals per day as he says recent research has found that works well and is better tolerated long-term. He also recommends lower carb, higher fat on NFDs, i.e., the Mediterranean way of eating. Basically 800 cals for as long as possible then 5:2 at 800 cals, and maintenance being the Mediterranean way of eating plus 6:1 if needed. He also suggests adding time restricted eating as a complement, which I know a lot of you already do anyway – starting with 12:12, then moving to 14:10, and maybe 16:8 if it’s tolerable.

Really, I think it’s just a combination of his previous diets, upgraded according to more recent research. The most useful part for most of us will probably be the second half of the book, which has some very yummy-looking recipes.

@thinatlast, no, I didn’t mention Pilbara wind – not sure who did, as I must have missed reading it

Other comments – went through my fridge and cupboards this evening and have ditched a lot (not all) of my “hanging on” Christmas goodies – opened a few packages and sampled a little, then threw the rest away – yes, really, binned it, did not use my mouth as the bin. Quite happy with myself for that!

Met a friend Saturday – she’d been sick, but said she was much better, just coughing (toward me) when she talked. Woke today with sore throat, stuffiness and headache. I will still fast Monday, but drink lots!

Good morning everyone

Weight is still up a bit this morning but down from yesterday’s which is surprising as I had a major blowout last night. We had spaghetti bolognaise for dinner which I usually have zoodles with instead of the pasta. I actually did this last night but then I discovered there was heaps of leftover pasta as OH didn’t realise I was having zoodles and had cooked pasta for two of us. Well I ate the whole lot! I just sprinkled it with salt and ate it bit by bit until it was all gone. Before 5:2 pasta was one of my favourite foods. I could easily eat a big bowl of it just with Parmesan and sometimes butter and when I think about how many calories that bowl contained I am astounded. Anyway, that is behind me now.

Rosy the star signs questions are interesting. I find it hard to box myself into any traits as I am always a bit of both (maybe I should be a Gemini, which I’m not lol)
I guess I am extroverted and yes I am sensitive. I am very organised and actually get annoyed at people who can not organise themselves to do simple things like not be late! I am indecisive but I think that comes down to wanting to make other people happy, putting their needs before mine. I would say I have high standards in most things and I prefer quality. This applies to material things but also to the people in my life I guess. My OH is an Aries and has all the traits you described above. He is the most black and white person I know and is ultra organised.
You also asked what foods we crave on FDs. I don’t crave anything in particular but around 3pm I just really want food in general. I don’t eat all day and just have a normal dinner with my OH but sometimes I just need something at that 3pm mark. Miso soup is one of the things I have although I just make it in a cup with the miso paste rather than adding other things to it as I am always at work on FDs. If the weather is hot I like to take cut up cucumbers and celery sticks and I have them sprinkled with salt. I often wonder if I am really craving the salt more so than the actual food. The problem is that when I have something at that 3pm mark it awakens the hunger dragon and then I am starving until I get home.

I still haven’t made the pesto……. time to go and do it before my Basil all gets wasted.
Have a lovely day all x

Good morning Southern Hemispherites and Northern Ring Ins!

Thin, I am SO glad I was right about the neighbours going away again. Two weeks holiday maybe? Fingers crossed.
And it was me who mentioned the Pilbara wind. The weatherman talked about that hot spell coming from the Pilbara and heating up as it moved through the Centre.

Ooh yum, what a delicious meal you had last night and so fresh and summery.
I had to look up mahi mahi too. And then a particularly good miso soup. Yum.

I am absolutely useless at suggesting outdoor adventures for DD! Hope you come up with something wonderful.
Well done packing up Christmas. That’s what I need to do today.

Quacka, a great finale to the Camembert adventure. I hope you had a lovely time making pesto yesterday. (It’s all food on this thread at the moment!) Great snake stories. I love the beauty of red bellied black snakes.

LJoyce, hopefully a slow start just helped your fast day. Well done at the Gym! Impressive. And then all that cooking. How nice to have cleared so many of those veggies.
I was so excited to try that cumin bake, but then I remembered that I wanted to cook the veggies to add to that Mexican rice fail. I didn’t want to add a skerrick more oil. So I steamed pumpkin and cauliflower and added fresh corn kernels and finely diced celery plus a bit more chili pepper, mixed a couple of eggs through, and baked it, layered with kale and silverbeet, as a big veggie bake loaf thing (it filled a lasagne dish). Relieved to say it was absolutely delicious.
Had a serve for dinner, two more serves in the fridge, two containers in the freezer – the freezer is getting fuller! But at least my veggie drawer is getting emptier!

Rosy Posy you are giving yourself lovely holidays.

Intesha, so sorry you are feeling so drained. That hot weather is a killer. I wilt too. I do hope you are finding some energy today. A big goodbye to the wedding dress. I love the feeling of getting rid of stuff, but that one is particularly full of memories.

Hi Arelkade, Hooray for a cooler day! What a great post full of positive things. Hi to your dear dad!

Betsylee, great to see your post, and thanks for the review of Dr Mosley’s new book. I am keen to read it when I can get it from the library. Like you, I don’t think it will be that relevant for me as I am best making my fast days as low calorie as possible.
Great work ditching those unneeded festive foods.You did not use your mouth as a bin. Excellent!
But so sorry you caught the bug, hope it is just a short one. best wishes fasting today, I hope you have some good soup on hand.

Well, I had a lovely time with the littlies yesterday but I am moving slow today and want to get a lot done before my dear sister arrives to stay a few days tomorrow. I had a an excellent eating day yesterday (ate food, mostly plants, not too much) and hope to do the same today,.

Good luck to every one of you for your day.

@quacka , I forgot to ask if you ever lose your temper or if you are stubborn but here goes. I know star signs are rubbish but I have been intrigued by them ever since I was a child and my late mum was reading Linda Goodman’s Sun signs and told me I was a typical Saggitarius.
There are also numerous exceptions.
1. My first guess is Scorpio , you are semi extroverted, sensitive, passionate, punctual, impatient with lack of punctuality and organised.
2. My 2nd guess is Libra because you can be indecisive and like to keep people happy.
3. Pisces you are gentle.

LJ, you hit the nail on the head about it being so much easier to do 5:2 when at work. I have never yet tried to fast at home (and thus the reason I put on weight on my break and missed my SSC goal). Hope your stiffness is gone tomorrow and you have some nice walks. I’m about to head out for my lunchtime walk.

I have almost an illness about being on time. If I’m even 30 seconds late I stress madly and honestly I can count on one hand the number of times I can remember being late. So when others don’t show the same courtesy I get very annoyed!

Thin that’s an early start for a walk! But as a complete morning person I would love it. Being back at work I am missing my walks with OH and Maxx. Boo…but the bills have to paid. I tried to explain to Maxx that if I didn’t work he wouldn’t have any kibble or treats and I think it cheered him up. HA HA HA – what is that word?? [heads to Google] – Anthropomorphism: Treating your pet like a human

I hope the cooler weather is helping you feel less drained Intesha. It was brutal here for a couple of weeks wasn’t it?

Sorry to hear your babysitting has made you tired Cinque. Enjoy a slow day and I hope you have a nice time with your sister.

Ok time to walk. Chat soon!

We just watched the Golden Globe Awards and see that Bohemian Rhapsody won for Drama Motion Picture and Rami Malek won for Best Actor in a Drama Motion Picture. I know we were talking about it here a couple weeks ago. Has anyone else gone to see it yet? It’s still on my To Do list.

Anzac, I thought it might have been you who saw it. Maybe it was Gday. I know someone here saw it and really liked it. It had gotten mixed reviews. So much for bad reviews, huh? I would have gone to see it anyway because I like a lot of Queen’s music.

Oh my goodness. The latest saga is the saga of the pesto. Alas, my Basil still sits in the garden unpicked (and unloved). Not really, but this morning I was busy making the next batch of tomato sauce and then OH called after surfing and asked if I wanted to go golfing with his brother and SIL. So I ran out of time to make the pesto, again!

Golf was awesome fun. I enquired about lessons when I went to pay and as we were waiting for the others to come we went to practice at the nets. The gentleman in the shop, who does the lessons, came over and gave me a 5 minute mini lesson. Totally amazing how much you can learn in that time. I had such a fun game with just those few pointers!! I’m hooked again and am definitely going to book a lesson or two!

Rosy, I lose my temper often and am extremely stubborn. When I lose my temper though I usually hide it, as again I don’t want to upset those around me. Stubbornness is what has got me through my life. It also undoes me at times but usually works in my favour. I am none of those star signs but I think the Libran traits you see are all from my mother. She is a typical Libran and I get a lot of my personality from her. I pick up other traits from OH as we have been together for so long, from a young age. I was only just 19.
You say I am gentle. That is so true, but I think that is again from my mother. Maybe I’m a difficult one to guess, or maybe it’s because I don’t really know myself (???) but I just don’t think I fit the moulds. You will laugh when you find out though. Hint: there’s a clue in my first paragraph 🙂 🙂

Anzac I’m still on holidays for this week. I’m actually really p*****d off at the moment as OH sister is coming down from QLD and we got THE call last night for a family dinner on Sunday night. My last night of my holidays. Maybe you can guess by the tone of this paragraph but I don’t like his sister, actually most of his family don’t. She is a trouble maker, rude, obnoxious and talks utter cr*p. She has called me a gold digger before and I will never forget it as whatever OH and I have, we have worked for together. I have never not worked since I finished school. She also treats the SIL (we golfed with today) like an outsider. Ok she is not married to her brother , but they have been together for 7 years. But hey. Like mother, like daughters. I’m only just beginning to accept what sort of a person my MIL is. Ooops, I said too much. If you lovely people only knew…….

Thank you again for being here. You are all very precious to me xx