Re quotes I like this one from Nelson Mandela ‘Do not judge me by my successes but by how many times I have got back up after I have fallen.’

Quacka re the gift of homemade sour dough bread, I would ask why would anyone gift such an irresistible present to someone who is on a weight loss journey ?

@ Betsy , yes it has been a long haul right in the middle of Summer too !

@ Cali , LJ, thanks for explaining why 6.1 needs more oomph to maintain.

@ Lindsay, I sure won’t miss my red cast at all ! Have you ever tried to wash your face with one hand? I am grateful though that it wasn’t my right hand or my leg or both forearms !
@ LJ now you’ve put the fear of god into me with the thought that they might make me wear the cast longer !! That is a very sobering warning because every time my forearm stops hurting, I use it a bit more and then it starts hurting again. The specialist did say not to lift anything heavier than a glass of water and I’ve been way naughtier than that ! Yikes !

Just finished my 4 th btb liquids only fast day, one more to go and then it’s 2 days of being naughty , yay !

Part 2 🙂

Quacka, congratulations on that lowest weight. It is a wonderful thing to have a mum who makes sourdough and then shares it. I don’t suppose you said “Ooh that will be so lovely to break my fast with tomorrow”?

LJoyce, I do hope yesterday was a better day for you, and I am glad today is infusion day. I hope it is an easy one with minimum after effects.

My busy time is over for now, I hope, and I can take time to recover.

Anzac, I did take a pic of Miso to share…. note to self. Find it!
(Mid twenties is perfect for a holiday! Crazy woman!)

Neil, that Surf to Stadium is a wonderful event to be part of. We’ll cheer you on!

Lindsay, my granddaughter’s other grandma is visiting and the kids call her oma, so there are lots of jokes about cyclone Oma being in Melbourne! So glad that at the moment it looks like it might not hit the coast. Hope that includes the Island.
Sending lots of good wishes for everything you are dealing with.

Betsy, CAREFULNESS is an excellent idea! haha. A third fast day is a bonus, if it fits in okay, but 5:2 gets us there, even us impatient ones!

Penguin, hooray for grandparents. Interesting info about the exercises.

And Rosy, lovely to think of you fasting today, thinking of your fun weekend.

Must go and check whether my ‘recovery’ might need to include having little Miss 2 with me this morning. (I won’t mind). Best wishes all. Sensible eating for me today.

Good morning, lovely people. 8:06 am here in the overcast Blue Mountains. Life has been so hectic lately and I admit I have completely fallen off the 5:2 bandwagon since my early beginnings. I really, REALLY would like to get back on it and have tried many times but failed spectacularly. If it’s not too much to ask, I would really like a massive boost of encouragement to get started again. I felt so good while I was fasting regularly. I have quickly fallen into feeling sluggish and lethargic, which is not helping at all.

I hope you are all going magnificently. My apologies for my absence recently. xx

Got my bloods back today, apart from my iron being a bit low, everything is perfect. Cholesterol is 3.4 (supposed to be under 4). Good cholesterol 1.9 (supposed to be over 1.0) and bad cholesterol 1.03 (supposed to be under 2). Triglycerides are 33 (supposed to be under 40. Liver and kidney functions all normal, none of the cancer markers. I’m a happy chappie.

I’ll just have to up my intake of leafy veg and red meat.

haha Rosy, it is okay, you were not missing that much, and I never presume everyone will be able (or want) to read everything. Also I started off by calling you Rose instead of Rosy! No wonder you missed it. This is what I said:

“I am like Thin and still do 5:2 for maintenance.
In my case it is because I would start putting weight back on if I didn’t. I can give myself more leeway, but if I have a 6:1 week and then a lax fast day or two, I need a fasty fast day to get me back on track.
I think it is because my brain and stomach don’t communicate very well, I often feel hungry even when I have had a sensible meal. I do a lot of emotional eating if I am not careful and I easily feel hungry when I am thirsty and am still learning how to tell the difference. And I tend to snack too much at the end of the day.
I am getting into better and better habits but I don’t mind if I am 5:2ing for the rest of my life because I think it is a healthy way of eating.
When I was first doing 5:2 I didn’t feel so hungry, but now I am at the lower end of my healthy weight range I am much hungrier. ”

PS all, no babysitting this morning, catching up with Daughter and Miss2 for a coffee (and babyccino) instead. Lovely.

Neil, Woot!

Kangarootha, the best encouragement that I can give you is that I’ve tried just about every diet there is and some that I made up myself over the years. Some of them worked and then they were over and I gained backed everything I lost and then some. 5:2 has worked for weight loss, and for the last 14 months for maintenance. I think it works for me because it’s easy to count calories for 2 days a week and just eat mindfully most of the other days. I don’t feel like I’m dieting. The FD’s have just become a habit. There were a couple times that I added a 3rd FD when I was losing and reached a long plateau. That seemed to get things going again.

I think the main thing is making a decision that losing weight is important enough for your health and your vanity that you’re willing to go with it and not look back. If you screw up on a FD, just make the next day your FD instead. It’s flexible but does require some commitment. And only you can decide whether it’s worth it. For many, it just isn’t, especially as they get older. Extra weight makes most people look even older than they really are. Watching people in a crowd at any event will confirm that a person can fit in just fine with all the other overweight and obese people out there. But why fit in when you’re born to stand out? (Another Dr. Seuss quote.)

Hello lovely people!

Kanga, glad to have you back. I second all the advice offered so far. You can do this, just tackle it one day and one small goal at a time. If you fall off the rails one day start afresh the next day and don’t give yourself grief about the day that’s gone and can’t be changed.
Plan ahead for your FDs and have food ready for those times you know you’ll need to eat. (I always have some FD friendly meals and soups in the freezer for emergencies.)
You don’t have to give up your favourite foods, it’s just for one day, twice a week, and a modicum of restraint in between.
If you are struggling then get online and talk to us – that helped me many times.
Good luck, you can do it.

The nurse isn’t coming until 4:30 as she had a hospital shift this morning (she also works in intensive care at the Royal Adelaide). I’m trying to keep my fluids up as it makes it much easier to get the jelco into the vein if I’m well hydrated.

Thanks for the concern my hips are still an irritation but nowhere near as bad as they felt a a few days ago.

I’ve decided to do a few fast800 days. I actually started yesterday, it was a snap decision really. We are just starting a heatwave here with high temps forecast for the next 10 days. I thought I might use this to my advantage with lighter food days as I find them easy when I’m hot. Although I did once do many months on 800cals I used shakes, so doing this with normal food is a new challenge for me. We’ll see how it goes. I thought it might give me a bit more leeway with my weight range before the challenge of colder weather starts. I’m already finding that every time the weather changes to a colder day my appetite goes into overdrive.
I won’t actually be counting calories as I don’t want to get back into that type of diet mode. I’ll just roughly estimate what I eat and record everything in my food diary, as I always do. I used to find when I counted calories I was always trying to sneak treats into any spare calories, when I don’t count I don’t do that as I always think I don’t have the spare calories to do it – basically I tend to slightly over estimate the calories I’ve eaten and it seems to lead me to choose healthy low cal foods.

Lindsay, I’m very glad that the cyclone danger has eased. I would imagine that, unlike north Queensland, Brisbane would be much less prepared and therefore more vulnerable to cyclones.

Hope you are all having a good day.

Oh btw, without setting that goal, since I started exercising I lost the need to drink my beloved wine and German Weissbier as well. Good to know that it was only a very bad habit, not an addiction, phew! Not drinking alcohol also gets the calorie count down, yay.

SCREEEAAAMMMM!!! Hi guys up with sparrows again after my 5th btb liquids only fast day ! The scales are being totally adorable ! I have lost 1.3 kg since last Sat and am now 65.1 kg including cast. My gp said to subtract 500 g for cast weight which would make me 64.6 kg, my bmi is 22.7. YAY!!! I am living proof that this wol works ! I was on Keto for years and only lost a kg or two. Sept 9 2018, 5 months ago I was 18.6 kg heavier and that was over the silly season too . Thanks for all your incredible advice and support guys ! 4 to 5 kg to go !

@lindsay clever you identifying the author of the ‘Keep the ******** honest quote. You write so eloquently !
@cinque and a Kanga , Cinque is sooooo right Kanga, you don’t have to go without your fave foods , just defer them for a few days. All week I’ve been dreaming about salami, black olives and Brie and that is exactly what I had this morning albeit in small amounts as I couldn’t fit in as much as to which I was used.
@ Thin hurry back, hope your Crown is great ! Mine was a cracked molar at the back.

Hi all, really pleased today as the scales are another 0.6 kg down from last week – seems to be the amount I’m averaging per week, and hope it keep up. No marvelous drops like others, but steadily down will do me.

Penguin, thanks for the comments re sit-ups. I should have explained that my “sit-ups” are just lifting head and (slightly) shoulders up (with knees bent). I’m 69 and was advised by my physio some years ago that to protect my back, I should do this modified version. That being so, it’s much less stressful on the body, so daily doesn’t seem to hurt. Have been doing them for several months without problems. On the other hand, a few years ago I did try something called the “dead bug” exercise which is also for core strengthening, and did end up tearing a muscle by overdoing it – put me out of action for a couple of months – so I do try to be cautious.

Neilithicman, great, great blood test results. Well done!!! Now if I can just do the same!!!! Good luck with the run challenge coming up soon, even if you do have to walk some of it.

Kangarootha, Hang in there and keep going. The great thing about 5:2 is that you can pick it up anytime, not like a normal “diet”. Just remind yourself on your fast days that you can have that “whatever” the next day, you won’t be deprived of it forever. Hey, if I can do this WOL, anyone can!

LindsayL, glad your weather has settled, though I noticed that some of the waves have been really high. The surfers seem to be loving it. Also, was thinking of your comment re trigger points. I’ll have to re-set mine. It has always been 88 kg – get there and I dig in my heels and say “no more”, but in reality, 88 kg is way too high for me. Maybe I’ll have to see how low I can go, then set something at that level.

CalifDreamer, liked the Dr Seuss quote!

Quacka, well done with the 66 – you made it! Now just one more 0.1 kg.

LJoyce, hope the infusion went well yesterday, and your pain levels start falling again.

Rosy Posy – great weight loss, well done.

Anzac65, where are you? I’ve been looking through the posts looking for another Maxx story – they do bring interest and amusement to us all. Hope the Maxx / OH training is going well 🙂 .

Hi Cinque, have a great fast day. I only managed to get 1 day in this week, possibly because of my exercise regime – I need ‘fuel’ for that I suppose. Perhaps next week I’ll manage 2???A friend of mine is going to run a weightloss challenge soon. I have signed up just to keep me on the straight and narrow 🙂 I’m sorry to hear that you have a chronic illness. Did you used to be a jogger? I started running back in Germany and loved it. I also kept it up here in Brisbane until a few years ago. But my knees have gotten really bad 🙁 My right knee blew up a few years ago and the left knee caused me pain just when walking up until recently. Not being able to run sucks, doesn’t it? I have now seen my physio and he reckons with the exercises he gave me for rehab I will be able to run a little within 6-12 months. I need to strengthen the muscles around my knees to do that. Just thinking of running gives me goose bumps! I love it so much.

Neil, you are a lucky guy that you are able to run, have fun, mate! I wish I could join in…. How long have you been running?

Good morning SHs. Hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

I was a bit under par yesterday with some side effects from the infusion, but I feel good today.
Today is day 4 of fast800 and so far it’s been easy. I have 10 coming for family dinner tonight, but I am cooking chicken and a salad and in addition to the calorific dessert there will be a fruit platter, so it should be easy to chose a healthy meal. I wisely chose to make pavlova for dessert as all the family love it and I don’t, so it’s easy to avoid that one. My biggest temptation so far was this morning sitting gown to a cup of tea and being able to smell the toast that my neighbours were making for breakfast. It got my taste buds salivating and I don’t usually feel like eating breakfast.
In Adelaide, we’ve started what I hope will be the last hot spell for this summer. It’s going to be a week or more of 37-40C temps here so apart from necessary appointments and errands (of which there are unfortunately quite a few) I expect I’ll be largely indoors keeping cool. Walks will need to be in the morning to avoid the heat.

GDSA, I expect the heat wave here will be a furnace for you – I’m sorry you’ve had such a hot summer up in the mid-north. But well done on the alcohol ban and the members draw win.

Maxi, if you are active enough for 6:1 to work than maybe you don’t need a second FD. Do what works for you. I cringed at your comments on running – I am so bad at it it feel like cruel and unusual punishment. Each to their own – I remember one of those BBC health doccos saying that people who love running get a a much bigger endorphin release from running than the rest of us. If you can get a high and exercise in one activity that sounds like a win to me. I hope your body lets you get back to it soon.

Rosy well done on the loss. Given that you fast for 5 days each week I’m not surprised that you are still getting such good weight loss numbers with a BMI in the 22s.

Betsy congrats on your weight loss. As Cinque said for many of us the loss was slow and mostly steady – this is what 2 FDs in intended to achieve I think.

Quacka, well done on getting to 66kg and also on managing a loaf of freshly baked bread without going overboard. I also find sourdough (especially if it’s made from whole rye rather than refined white wheat flour) doesn’t trigger my appetite. That doesn’t mean I don’t want another piece when I’ve just eaten one – it’s not hunger, it tastes good and I want to continue the enjoyment! Like you I slice the loaves and stash most of it in the freezer. It’d safer and easier to portion properly that way.

Neil, that’s a brave commitment, and there is nothing wrong with combining walking, jogging and running to get there – you’ll still cover the same distance and feel an enormous sense of achievement.

Cinque, hope your visit to the English lessons goes well.

Kanga, how are you going? You know it isn’t just successful days that you can come and talk about don’t you. We are here if you are struggling too.

Cali and Penguin, I hope the end of winter means more moderate temperatures for you both.

Lindsay, glad the weather has abated. Hope you are managing the rest of life’s challenges.

Hello to anyone else who’s reading and not posting.

Good luck to the Sunday fasters.
It feels a bit weird to not have actual FDs this week. I’m actually finding that the 800 days just feel like a really well managed CD, but I don’t have to do FDs as well.

Hi Rosy,
Bear in mind that I’m not counting calories so my “800” is approximate. It will feel too much like dieting if I count calories so I’m just focusing on eating smaller portions, few snacks and very few high cal foods.
I don’t eat breakfast but I allow a cup of low fat milk per day for cups of tea (that’s about 100cal). Lunch is usually a very large, very cold smoothie that contains some combination of skim or almond milk, kefir or yoghurt, psyllium, inulin, stevia, water, a handful of frozen fruit, lots of ice, and flavourings such as vanilla or cinnamon. By the time I’ve blended that lot up I have something that resembles a thick shake that is about 750ml and I have to eat it with a spoon until the ice crystals start to melt – it takes a while and it’s both filling and yummy. I’ve been making smoothies this way for quite some time so I know they are usually somewhere around 250cals, give or take 50.
Afternoon snack is always a piece of fresh fruit (eg a banana or 2 plums). Some days I’ll have 2 pieces of fruit. Some days I’ll have a couple of teaspoons of nut butter as well – spread on apple slices or a banana it’s a delicious snack and more filling than the fruit alone.
For dinner I eat a normal meal with some solid protein (eg lamb chops, salmon patties, frittata etc), plenty of veg and small amounts of fats for cooking or dressings. The veg includes both low cal choices and also some high cal choices such as legumes, potato, pumpkin or corn. I’m having very few starchy carbs at present other than the starchy veg.

I’m not trying to get to any specific weight, just trying to encourage my body to be content at a lower weight than I have been for most of the last 4 years. (I’ve mostly been in the 75-78kg range with just very short periods above or below that.)
Despite getting down into the 73s in January I’m finding it takes very few indulgent meals/days for my weight to pop back above 75kg, even with 2 FDs per week and some CDs. I figured I needed a better buffer so that if my weight rises and falls it still mostly remains under 75kg, which is what I’d prefer. I also thought that the more time my body spends below 75 the more it will get used to being there and stop fighting me on this. Which is what it feels like is happening at present. It got so used to 75-78 and is resisting all attempts to change that on anything but a fleeting basis. It fought me on that weight range too for the first year or so of maintenance. (It kept wanting to be in the 80s.) I just need to persevere and encourage my body into a new way of thinking about what weight is normal for me.
I guess I’m also preparing for the cold weather as I find CDs much harder to do when it’s cold and I’d feel more comfortable with a better buffer before then.

As to your question about people telling you to stop losing weight as you are getting too thin – yes everyone who’s lost a lot of weight encounters this I think. It’s usually not people you see every day, as for them the change is very gradual. Those you see less often are often shocked at the change since they saw you last. I think some of it is reflected fear about their own weight. When someone in their group succeeds at something some people will see this as showing up the fact that they have also have a problem they haven’t addressed – this can be very uncomfortable for those who aren’t ready to face the issue. Occasionally it will be the “thin” person in the group who has the issue with this, as they used to like being the only thin person and aren’t keen on having competition. Often the comments are a knee jerk reaction, I think that it’s rarely a conscious and deliberate effort to undermine us.
I also found that when I was using a meal replacement VLCD to lose weight that I also got comments about how unhealthy my weight loss method was. I understood this as I also took some convincing to believe that it could give my body the nutrition I needed. It’s the reason I chose one of the expensive and dietitian supported VLCD brands that provide 100% of the daily recommended micro-nutrients – I chose the one that was originally developed for bariatric patients post-surgery when they are on fluids only.
The program I followed included 2-4 cups low cal veg and 1 tsp of oil per day (and I was allowed some milk for cups of tea). I was really pleased that I was required to eat some veggies every day as even with adding psyllium to all my shakes that is still insufficient fibre for me, I really needed the veg too. It was also nice to be able to create something that felt like normal meal, even if it did just contain veg. I got very creative with the ways I presented my limited veggie choices. Although I didn’t realise it at the time, I suspect it was also better for the survival of my gut bugs to be including a range of veg and some milk every day.
Like you I had GP support through the weight loss process, which I think is quite important when your level of calorie restriction is so low on all or most days.

Gday, Happy Birthday to Miss D for yesterday. Smart move for her to choose takeaway pizza for tea considering those hot temps you’re getting there. I hope she had a happy one. And congrats on the 2.7kg loss in the last 3 weeks. Alcohol does seem to play a part in making weight gains unpredictable so I find I’m better off without it too. It’s nice when you can see the losses in the mirror. You would probably notice them even more if you didn’t see yourself every day, becoming accustomed to the small changes. That’s why I liked always having a pair of jeans that were a bit too small to try on every week or two. It was surprising how quickly they fit just right. It’s kind of surprising that now that I’m in maintenance my weight can go up and down within about 2kg without making my jeans don’t feel much different. I attribute that to water weight. There’s no way I could actually lose a kg overnight after a FD or gain it overnight on the next NFD. Maybe water weight compresses more easily into jeans. 😁

LJ, I’ll be interested to see how the 800 plan works for you. Maybe it will stabilize your weight at a couple kg less, like when you were getting all the exercise with the home repairs on your old house and getting moved into your new house. Please keep us updated on your progress.

Last weekend while everyone there was braving the high temps and we got a little snow, it actually snowed quite a bit in Tucson, Arizona, which is south of a Phoenix and usually very warm, even in the winter. The Tucson police were out investigating a call about a strange white substance. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jHNwxSjtUos

@max – I have never been a runner. I’ve always been reasonably fit because I play a lot of tennis….but it turns out there’s a big difference between being tennis fit and being running fit. Tennis is lots of quick stop start running, that doesn’t cross over to running for extended periods of time.

The weather was pretty bad the last couple of days so I had a lazy weekend. I didn’t do anything on Saturday except pick the plums off our tree (we got over 30 kilos of plums) then Sunday I spent half the day bottling plums and apples for winter and then just sat around watching a movie with the family and playing games on my ipod. I guess sometimes you need to have a weekend or two like that though. You can’t be all go all the time. Hopefully the weather is better this evening so I can get out and play some tennis.

Monday morning, Summer is letting us know it hasn’t gone yet. I’ll start complaining on Wednesday. Very grateful it should keep itself to the 30’s. Thinking of you particularly Gday, and everyone west of me.

I had a good fast day yesterday, I made a vegetable soup instead of my usual miso. And more in the fridge.

Never really a jogger Maxi but I was living in Cockatoo, in the Dandenong Ranges, and the old Puffing Billy steam train track was a wide, smooth grassy trail through the bit of forest, just prefect for a gentle walk/run. By the time I got fit enough for steady jogging I moved to Bendigo and rode my bike instead. (They have since rebuilt the Puffing Billy track as it is a big tourist attaction.)
I was getting the wonderful feeling, though, and even on a cold wet morning I wanted to get up and run through the forest.
I do hope you can get your knee strengthened so you can run a bit again.

LJoyce, I am glad fast800 is working so well for you. I am going to have a think about doing something similar through the hot spell.

I just had a peep at the English lesson, yesterday, as there were plenty of helpers and only a few participants. I will be ready to do my part when needed.

Rosy Posy, I think there must be a deep evolutionary worry about seeing someone lose weight. It is almost like people can’t help themselves.
I learnt to say “I am perfectly healthy, you will get used to it once you have seen me a few times.” Even to my doctor. And they did.

Gday, you’ve lost nearly a kilo a week after stopping drinking alcohol. That’s impressive! It is lovely walking past mirrors when you can see the difference!
Happy Birthday to Miss D! 11 is a lovely age!

Cali, haha, cute video. Keep warm. I wore my version of your ‘bit small’ jeans yesterday and they told me they would like another centimetre or two off my waist. (Yes, they do up at my waist)

Ooh three new posts since I started writing! (I’m going very slowly this morning and tidying up a bit between paragraphs).
Anzac, so glad it was a lovely weekend, just what you needed! Including the 200g loss!

Neil, yes, a nice slow weekend is just what is needed sometimes. And yay for the bottling. I hope you get your tennis in today.

LJoyce, special good wishes to your dear aunt and uncle.

Sending special good wishes to Minka and Merry and hoping it is a good day all round. Bye now.

After pizza and cake yesterday the scales have increased 0.2kg from yesterday morning to this morning . Very happy with that little increase as it could have been much worse.

Just checking in – as often now as when I said I wouldn’t be as frequent. Typical! It’s called procrastination. I’m avoiding doing the tapescripts of a few interviews. I know they won’t be difficult to do, but…..

Penguin, re exercise, I forgot to say that I actually take Sundays off from the regular sit-ups, use of weights, etc. – do you think I should have another rest day during the week? My exercises would be nothing like someone does in a gym. Light and gentle!!

LJoyce, we’ve got the hot weather here, too, not as bad as S.A., plus I avoid walking outside to protect my skin. Have you tried house-walking? I often walk briskly from one end of my unit to the other and back again for measurable lengths of time; today was 33 minutes. You can play music or have the TV on while doing it, and get your exercise in. My fitbit registers it as walking, so it’s vigorous enough. My other place for walking is the local shopping mall, just have to dodge the shoppers.

Rosy Posy, I’m a pear, too, and when I’ve lost weight in the past, up have come the “saboteurs”. If your dr is supporting what you’re doing, just smile and disregard their comments.

GDayfromSA, great news about your weight loss and decreased measurements – 3.5 cm – wow!!!!!

Anzac65, great to see you back on the forum. Sad for Maxx, but glad the treatment worked so he’s back to his “normal” self again. When’s the next training session for him?

Onward and downwards everyone!!! 🙂

How does the fast 800 work? Is it the same as with the 500 cal fast days? I struggled with the 500 cal FD but managed to fit in a 800 cal FD yesterday, yay.
Talking about jogging, I dreaded and hated it in school as we only did it once in a blue moon so our bodies were never conditioned to getting used to the exercise. All I remember is excruciating pain in my sides, awful!!!
But when I was in my early Thirties I wanted to give it another go for health as well as weight reasons. Then of course I could run at my own pace, as long or short, as fast or slow as I wanted and I loved it. I started with running for 1 minute then walking for a minute and did that for about half an hour. Next time I jogged for 3 minutes at a stretch, 1 minute walking, 3 minutes jogging and so on for half an hour again. My pace was as slow as a fast walker but the third time I made it through for half an hour at a stretch. The key really is to start super slow and once you can jog comfortably for a while (weeks or even months) then you can work on increasing speed. Don’t increase distance and speed at the same time. In any case I kept at it and with time I was able to run for an hour on most days of the week. Once I was really fit I even threw some long runs in. The longest I ever ran was for 2 1/2 hours. I did have a few ‘runners highs’ back then too. It’s like running on clouds, you feel you can fly, it’s amazing. Nothing hurts, wonderful feeling!!!! I don’t think I’ll have that ever again as I think it requires to run longer distances and my knees will not allow that. But if I even manage 10 minutes I’ll be over the moon. I will take my German Shepherd dog Lani with me, she runs at a very nice even pace 🙂

And yes, running probably caused my knee problems. When I had knee pain back in Germany I saw my GP about it. She told me that it was ‘old age’. Since I couldn’t do anything about old age I kept running. Btw I was still in my early Thirties then…..A couple of years later I saw a sports doctor and he painted a very different picture. Turns out my GP was an idiot…..

Yeah Cinque, riding the bike is definitely much better on the knees. I use the bike to ‘oil my knee joints’ for 20 minutes or so before I walk on the treadmill. That works really well.

Hi Neil, good luck with your 10k run/ walk. Please keep us posted about progress. Perhaps what I wrote above might help a little?

Ljoyce, thanks for your comments on the FD. I think I am doing okay with just 1 FD and exercise as I’m losing fat and gaining muscle at a steady rate. But boy, gaining muscle is so painfully slow. Hubby only needs to walk past my exercise equipment and the muscles around his knees grow 😉 But then, he’s having trouble to lose weight.

Hi Rosy, as to the negative people commenting on your wonderful weightloss, Ljoyce really hit the nail on the head with what she wrote! Just try and ignore silly comments. Some people just talk for the sake of talking 😉

Quaccka I love that quote : I can’t change her attitude to life but I can change my reaction to her attitude! So cool! Stay positive guys, life is too short to be miserable! Ask my hubby, his saying is “Every day you wake up is a good day”! And isn’t that the truth?

One more question, do you guys set yourselves goals, like weekly or monthly goals? And once you have achieved a goal, do you reward yourselves? I can stick to my health/weightloss program better when I set myself some goals. So my goals are monthly. Luckily February is coming to a close and it looks like I’ll get there with my kg goal. I know it’s counterproductive but I am going to reward myself with an icecold big, wonderful German Weissbier with some lemon that has been waiting for me in the fridge for a month! Uh I know I’m terrible but alcohol once a month should be okay 😉 I am so going to enjoy this in this awful heat, ta!

Betsy. With exercise the law of diminishing returns sets in quickly – with the second session of the week. Current research says that the second session gains you less than the first, the third even less and so on. One session a week will maintain and slightly improve fitness, two is enough for most people. After three the gains are so small that unless fitness is your profession there is no point. My Monday to Friday routine used to be to run six miles a day followed by a gym session, with a long run at the weekend. Most of that was un-necessary. My routine now is, in a good week, two gym sessions with the weights, one of Pilates and a walk or some gardening every day. I walk the hills when I can, but because I like it, not for fitness.

Max. Having lived ten years in Germany I understand the Weissbier temptation. Just treat it as a given number of calories, or if it is an infrequent indulgence don’t even do that, just enjoy it.

Hi all. Boy this thread moves fast. I feel I am now a fully fledged member of this forum. I lost a post, had a bounce on the scales and enjoyed Cinque’s Mung bean soup with slendier noodles. Yum. I said really nice things about everyone and commiserated with the walking wounded. Must say the bounce on the scales didn’t last long no doubt helped by the low cal deliciousness of the soup with extra lime juice.

Rosy. You have done really well seeing you are so close to goal. Just be careful when that cast comes off. You will be very susceptible to sunburn on that arm. I worked for many years in a fracture clinic and that was always the concern during summer.

Neil Well done on the running. I have started the C25 (couch to 5k). It’s a program with an app which takes you from the couch (where I was firmly ensconced) to running/jogging 5k or 30minutes over 9 weeks. I am at week 5 and I have just run 20 minutes continuously. This is the longest I have jogged/shuffled in my life and I am 69. Maybe this program could help you get someway towards your goal. Completing 10k any way you can Is worth aiming for. Also I had a sore knee which I was worried about which is now pain free, I can only guess that the muscles have strengthened as I have moved more.

I have had a great week with food and scales and have reached my first goal of 10% loss, 9kgs in 8 weeks. No new clothes yet but I am popping in to Target every now and then and trying on their slacks as I don’t have much In the way of aspirational clothes in the wardrobe. I will be checking my measurements next week and I am expecting a good result. I’m a bit like you, Quakka. Don’t actually recognise this new person who can bypass treats and gets out of bed to exercise. If I start to enjoy housework I’ll know that I have been taken over by an alien. Guess it’s a good alien so won’t complain.

Hope everyone has a good week. Everyone look after their extremities as well as mindfully eating.

Penguin that’s a lovely story. I hope one of those grandkids will treasure it one day. I have a bread knife which is an old hacksaw blade,one of those thick ones and my grandfather ( I never knew him) soldered on a handle and it is still in use today on my home made bread. Never needs sharpening. I also have a Christmas pudding recipe which was my grandmothers (if not older) handwritten by my mother and we still make it today. Both must be at least 100 years old. I’m trying to make sure my kids value them so that they stay in the family. I imagine you can put a nice warm blanket of mulch on those taties to get them through the frost.

Definitely making progress on the running. It took me 12 minutes 30 to run my 1.7km loop when I started. In 4 days I’ve got it down to 11 minutes 40.

Weigh in day tomorrow. It will be interesting to see if the running has affected my weight loss much.