Hi Purple and all, dinner tonight was mushroom and spring onion 4-egg omelette (for 2 serves) done in non-stick pan with salad of lettuce, tomato and pickled asparagus. Put grated cheese on OH’s side for added calories.

Fasting tomorrow also, planned dinner of small grilled lamb chop and steamed veg. It pays to plan 🙂

Sleep tight all!

Welcome Foxyjack and Alison
Michael’s doco seems the best way to get people started. Good on you. It is much easier if you have a mate.
A couple of hints…buy the books, read back through these threads, measure your whole body now so you can watch the changes, work out your TDEE (homepage) then make it less (eg choose sedentary) and plan your fast days.
All the best. The SH gang will support you. PVE

Welcome Alison.

I have now watched Dr M’s programme 3 times (but not last night because I am in love with Michael Kitchen on Foyle’s War) and have always learnt something new. My first response was ‘I can do that’. If you read my profile you’ll see why.

The book is also worth re-reading occasionally and I strongly recommend you acquire it if you haven’t already. It’s $7.95 in Kindle version from Amazon and I read recently on another thread that someone bought the paper version for 1p (UK) also I think from Amazon. Your local library may also have it.

The routine is really quite simple – calculate your TDEE (see the ‘How’ at the top of the page) then eat approximately 25% of that (max 500 calories unless you are VERY tiny) for two days each week. The other days you can eat WHAT you like but try to limit to your TDEE.

Calorie counting is a complete bore but it helps to do so, with a food diary, for a few weeks to get a feel for food’s energy content. After that most people get the hang of what foods are more energy-dense.

How rigorous you are with your non-FDs will probably have the greatest effect on your weight loss – I am not particularly disciplined on the 5 non-FD days because my husband has no need to lose weight and mealtimes are part of our life together.

I am 68 and it gets much harder to stay trim after menopause but have lost an average of a kg a month with no particular dietary hardship. Others like Purple and Bayleaf lost spectacular amounts in a much shorter time-frame by stringent attention to detail – your call.

I used to live in Brizzie in The Gap – very sad to have had to move back to my Adelaide childhood home but after lots of moves have learned that everywhere has its merits.

On fast days remember that hunger pangs come in waves and will go away if ignored. I find the 4 Ds helpful: delay, distract, drink and deep breathing. There is also dancing, practised by many of us 🙂

Best wishes and please keep posting. We are a friendly lot and interested in everyone’s progress. We also learn from each other.

Reinforcement is good Nicky.
I just had a post fast day accident! Made myself a stuffed mushroom for breakfast ( see LOACA Recipe thread). It was SO delicious, sitting in bed reading posts, I tipped the plate to drink the juices (no one watching) and it poured all over the sheets and quilt!
This is all to add…
I don’t count calories and didn’t in the beginning. What I did was look at which foods were high kj/100gms and which were low and simply cut out the former and ate the latter. It is second nature now…hence a fast diet food for breakfast on a feed day! They just taste better and sustain me so long I don’t need to snack any more.
Happy days! P

Gee thanks so much for the welcome Nicky, Bayleaf and purple (my fav colour!)

I sent my post off this morning and didn’t think I would receive a reply, so I am feeling supported and great now! Thanks

Obviously day one today, so haven’t planned and not sure whether to eat at lunch or dinner (less than 400 calls). Need to get the book. 🙂

I am studying at uni and have two young kids so will be hard to resist food tonight, so thinking I should try and hang out to dinner time and then eat a v small portion with kids? However will feel hungry today with 2 lectures. Just have to get used to that feeling.

Anyhow thanks again for advice and support. Will measure myself tonight or tomorrow morning.

Have a great day

Alison 🙂

Alison
Try a hardboiled egg lettuce (heaps) and tomato for lunch…about 100 cal. Then a small amount of lean meat or fish and salad again (no dressing) tonight. Go for leafy veg for bulk. Go ad long as you can before your first food and try Nicky’s four Ds 🙂
Remember bread, rice, potatoes, pasta, sugar, alcohol and fats (sadly that means cheese) are high in cals. Cut them out initially to get your head around low cal. Blueberries, strawberries and mushrooms are your friends.
On a non fast day look at the recipes on LOACA Recipe thread on this site. Also Kate Harrison’s 5 : 2 Diet and Recipe books have lots of ideas …available from Booktopia online.
Cheers PVE

Hello,

Im getting inspired reading your posts. I watched the SBS doco last night with my husband and to my surprise, he wanted to start on the 5:2. We have decided to jump in feet first and start tomorrow. Im trying to prepare myself mentally for a day of limited food. Im a bit nervous about the first day but Im thrilled to have found this forum for support.

Is the first day really difficult?

Thanks,
Ella

Hi Ella,
Go for you getting inspired to start!

Read the book and tips on this forum to get prepared, but it’s only difficult to fast if you let grow into a mountain, rather than a speed hump….learning a new habit is tricky, but not impossible, and if you distract yourself, drink plenty of water, breathe deeply and dance around while the sensation of hunger comes….then eases off, you’ll be fine!

Measure everything about yourself before you start. Use the tracker on this site to help you see where you’ve been and how well you’re doing.

Once you get over the idea that you really won’t die of starvation with this form of intermittent fasting, but truly flourish instead, there won’t be any stopping you!

Many on this forum are your age and older, like me, and have reversed poor blood pressure, blood glucose and cholesterol levels.
Happily the 5:2 has absolutely nothing to do with where you work, your energy levels, if your menopausal or not….it only has to do with limiting your calories twice a week. So where there’s life, there’s always hope!
Ask your friends who’ve had success to help you, it’s totally doable and well worth it!!

Hi WhereisMyWaist

Welcome to the SH mob and congratulations for taking the first step on what is bound to be a rewarding journey towards a thinner and healthier you.

Several of us are of ‘that certain age’ and have improved our lives by following the intermittent fasting way of life/eating (abbreviated WOL/E). Mine has been a relatively slow loss of about 1kg/month but others have achieved much more spectacular improvements.

If you have time you will find many gems of embedded wisdom in this thread and also the ‘Ladies of a Certain Age’ thread, which is populated by ‘old girls’ – I’m now 68.

As mentioned earlier, if you can do read the book, read the FAQs linked at the top of this page and jump in. There is lots of support here and on other threads.

Hello, I’m Susana from Sydney, they were showing a doco with Dr Mosley last night on the telly and he was talking about the diet, so this morning I googled it and found this wonderful site. I am on my first day of fasting, so far so good. I don’t really know if I am doing the right thing, since I could not find a sample menu for fast days, but I have had 2 scramble eggs, and lots of water.
I ordered the fast diet, and fast exercise books this morning. In the meantime I will just go my own way until I get them.
Lovely to see lots of Aussies on the forum

Welcome susana
You’ve started well. Just keep under 450 cals today. Lots of online calorie calculators. Drink lots. Don’t snack. Eg Have some smoked fish and green salad for dinner tonight.
Read all the posts and keep busy. You’ll be fine…even though the weather’s not! I’m in rainy Sydney too!
All the best on your new adventure. PVE

You are part of a team susana…Team Fast!
Well done when the kids ate 🙂 I find I think I have eaten when I’ve prepared food 🙂
My hubby and I save our calories until evening now as eating DOES stimulate your appetite and it makes for a better sleep eating .
Have a look in Coles health section for Slendier noodles (made from yam, minimal cals, great for bulking out dinner) Our UK mates call them zero noodles and some books call them miracle or Shiritaki noodles. Need to rinse well and add to something flavoursome. Excellent for days like today. P

Hi Gerry
Look on the LOACA Recipe thread on this forum.
You need to rinse them well, then stir them into a sauce or stir “fry”
eg lots of veg, onion, garlic, chilli, pasata (tomato puree sauce) add some lean turkey or fish
The sky is the limit as long as there is plenty of flavour and you RINSE THEM FIRST 🙂
Enjoy! PVE

Hi…I’m on day 1 today…of course it’s a fast day…1/4 of days calories gives me 313 cals on fast day :p
I’m in Birnam Qld but we are relocating back to the UK in 4 wks time. Me Ma has been unwell for a while (lung and pelvis cancer) and it just feels like ‘time’ to spend some quality time with her (been in Oz for 12yrs) . After watching the MM programme last night OH and me have decided to give it a go!!! So here we go….

Good morning everyone! I got excited about the slendier noodles and did some research:

review by nutritionist Catherine Saxelby:
http://foodwatch.com.au/reviews/item/product-review.html

recipes from the slendier website
http://www.slendier.co.uk/en/recipes/top-10-recipes

and a fun video about konjac (the vege the noodles are made from)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vkB29THBK2U

I can’t wait to try them.

I’m fasting today through a catered lunch meeting. Good luck to everyone fasting today.

All the best Tabbi 🙂

Definitely Deb. Waiting builds self control too. Enjoy the doco it should be compulsory viewing 🙂

Whichever is the smallest Nicky 😉
It’s a bit like weeing before weighing. A girl has to feel good! P

Hi Nicky,
I too have trouble measuring myself. Have you tried measuring the waist of the size 14 Sportscraft trousers? when I made trousers that has a waistband I think about 2 to 4 cm “ease” was added to the actual waist measurement to get a comfortable fit – to allow for a bit of dinner or a sneeze without popping a button. Some clothing manufacturers have measurements like the size 14 = 82-87cm waist but in reality the trousers have a lot of ease added.

I got some op shop shorts recently, the three pairs range from 8 to 12! and they are all roughly the same size…. My mother in law bought Fletcher Jones pants for decades and while she remained the same size herself but the pants sizes got smaller, she started off wearing 14 and ended up a 10. Smoke and mirrors to make us buy more if a “smaller” size fits?

cheers,
VM

Ok so I had 2 short cut bacon slices and a ‘no-oil’ fried egg at around 3:30pm and having strawberries later as a pudding, been having cups of tea and water to keep me going…OH doing well up to now…he’s not done anything like this before…I’m used to following eating plans…WW, CalorieKing, WLR…this has been something new…keep going!!!!

Ah yes, Dirty Dancing and the fabulous Patrick Swazy…..sigh! I also highly recommend Strictly Ballroom with the hot young Paul Mercurio……that also really gets me up and dancing. The first time I saw that at the cinema, it couldn’t stop dancing down the crowded Saturday night footpath, laughing and singing my head off….’love is in the air, everywhere I look around…love is in the air, every sight and every sound’

Haha! I certainly got some funny looks that night, but I was in such a great mood I really didn’t care!

Looks like the SBS repeat of Doc Mosley’s doco, has garnered a lot of new interest n 5:2. I even got my husband to watch it with me on the computer with ‘SBS on demand’, which got him finally interested in what I’m doing and why I’m doing it. Although my darling husband is happily still very thin and fit, he had a father who died young of diabetes type 2, multiple mini strokes, leading to a terrible ten year struggle with dementia; as well as his mother who has had multiple heart attacks and congestive heart failure. It might get him finally get interested in the idea of at least fuelling his body with healthier food choices, rather than the highly refined carbs and sugary, crap that he loves to eat at the moment. To possibly avoid his genetic heritage of these awful diseases.

It might be possible for old dogs to really learn new tricks after all. I live in hope!

In honour of happy memories, I’m planning to do a little ‘pasa doble’ bullfighter dance sequence, wearing a stunning Spanish skirt with a rose between my teeth…Olay! Paul Mercurio where are you when I need you? My husband has two left feet and no sense of rhythm!!! Lucky for him he has many other redeeming qualities and has a gentle laugh when I start dancing around the house like a passionate woman on a mission.

Have a gorgeous fast day, Thursday people!

So me and OH made it through our first fast day…without too much struggle!!! I’ll be a bit more prepared on Monday (next fast) and sort out better food choices!!! Really enjoyed my DS Flat White this morning!!! But didn’t even feel like ‘splurging’ out and didn’t feel ‘famished’ hopefully this bodes well for future weeks 🙂

Survived my first fast day. Feel empowered and good to know I didnt die from not eating every 3 to 4 hours as suggested by my previous brain washing regimes.
Now to plan my next day.

Wow! Welcome all newbies!!
I have been trying to spend my time away from the computer, and missed the reminder about the doco on SBS. Even though I’ve seen it, I would have liked to record it for reference, and to tell others to watch it. I’ll have to check if it’s on the SBS website.
Newbies, as PVE said, experiment. We all do our own version of 5:2 after seeing what works for our bodies and lifestyles. I find it fits in wonderfully. I fast Mon/Thurs. I have done consecutive days once, and it was easier than I thought, but my apetite seems to increase with each day after fasting (so I tend to eat the most on Wed and Sunday), so splitting fast days keeps me on track overall. I also try to have just the evening meal, but will split my fastday calories if I really need an afternoon snack.