Neil, that’s fantastic, well done. And this time, you won’t be re-gaining because you have a sustainable way of eating.

Klond, you are so right about the memories. My OH has some audio cassettes of his mother speaking of her childhood. Audio cassettes! With the added burden of getting them transcribed to the latest format. I wish someone had done the same with my grandmother who had a very interesting childhood.

Rosy, my OH prefers cooking on the flat plate side of our BBQ. I use the slatted side because I feel the grease has a place to escape. We’ve moved away from regular BBQ cooking in recent summers though as it’s not a healthy way to cook food. We do use our BBQ oven for cooking the Christmas turkey and that’s proven a real winner.

CalifD, interesting to note that beetroot (beets to you) doesn’t feature on the Australian burger or taco entree menu! They know better than to try and serve that in the USA. When we first came here, we were hankering for Mexican food but couldn’t find anything that even came close. Not that tex mex is authentic Mexican food but, even so, I don’t expect to find beetroot in a taco. So it seems a bit cheeky for an Australian restaurant to serve tacos in America!

Morning Quacka, good news about the oven. I still have several weeks’ worth of cauliflower soup made as I wait for the price of cauliflower to come down. I’m fasting with you today. Looking forward to it after 3 NFDs which didn’t seem right for this end of the week. 58.2kg and very happy.

Good morning everyone.

Neil that is a woo hoo indeed. Well done on the loss, you are going so well.

Quacka, very happy to hear that the oven will be replaced soon. I hope it’s installed by easter.

Cali, there seems to be a theme with those county fair foods. Just dip something in batter and deep fry it and people will apparently eat it. Our version of county fairs were called country shows – I think the “show” came from the origin of the annual events where farmers showed their animals and prizes were awarded for the best ram, ewe, beef steer, laying hen etc. The women in the family would cook up a storm and cakes and preserves would also be judged. I won a prize for my scones in our local show as a kid. The big treat food at these shows was fairy floss (coloured spun sugar) – which I don’t really like. I also remember it being the first time I’d tried a freshly cooked donut rolled in cinnamon sugar and eaten while still warm – it’s still the only way I like donuts. Which is a good thing, as they are not readily available in this form – everyone else seems to prefer them cold with icing on top.

Quacka, I also like Aagolemono, but my favourite Greek soup is Fassolatha. A school friend of mine’s parents emigrated from Greece and all my early experiences with Greek food were from her mothers cooking. She made fassolatha with brown lentils rather than beans and always finished it off with a little lemon or vinegar. I still make it all these decades after first tasting it.
That was a bargain cauliflower, I paid $3.50 for a small half last week.

Rosy, I love soups they are the backbone of my winter cooking and the most common dinner on FDs in cold weather. My favourites are pumpkin & lemon pureed soup, minestrone, cauliflower cheese soup (from one of Mollie Katzen’s books). I also do quite a few legume based soups, especially using lentils.

Hello to everyone else. I need to get moving as I have to catch a train to city shortly. I’m having lunch with ex-work colleagues today. I was going to have the beef masaman curry but I am sorely tempted by the noodles – which I rarely allow myself to have. I’ll debate it on the train. This is the lunch menu for the cafe we are going to http://starofsiam-adelaide.com.au/assets/media/StarofSiam_Lunch.pdf

Neil, excellent to have such a nice loss this week, and I know you can be confident that this time, once you get down to your healthy weight, you will be able to stay there.
Not only that, you have your son contributing to your recumbent bike!

Quacka, Woot! re the oven!

Thin, my daughter is a bit closer and a lot easier to get to. They would have liked to stay in Docklands but there is no primary school there. They are planning to stay in East Brunswick for a good few years now.
I’ll look out for ‘Traitors’ but I don’t have Netflix. It will come to free-to-air eventually I am sure.

Haha, I bet you aren’t below the healthy BMI range. I’m betting you will settle where you are, and your doctor will be pleased.

It was lovely sister time thanks LJoyce, Anzac

Cali, the girls still seemed quite unsettled yesterday, I’ll see what they are like when I babysit tonight. My daughter is very good at staying calm and making things easy for them in unsettled times, so I am sure they will settle quickly.

Klondi, sorry to miss that big lost post, but thankyou for yesterday’s beautifully written catch up. And yes, the mung bean stew freezes fine.
So exciting to know the Gruffalo tickets are there. And yes, I’ll tell you about Thin’s book.
I laughed at the dog under the bed story.

Anzac, do you need to negotiate extra hours? At a higher rate to balance out the stress eating?
Keep looking after yourself all you can. I am glad you are getting Maxx therapy.

Rosy, doesn’t sourdough go beautifully with so many soups. I love the sound of that carrot, cumin and coriander soup.
Your salad is brilliant too.

My experience of Australian cuisine began very Anglo with the food we ate as children in the 60’s, and then the exciting addition of Mediterranean vegetables from Melbourne’s large Italian and Greek populations (garlic, zucchini, eggplant, capsicum) in my teenage years, with some good Indian and SE Asian recipes sneaking as a result of so many young people travelling in the 70’s. Avocados and Italian coffee took hold.
In the 80’s nouvelle cuisine and some star restaurants showcasing modern Lebanese, Italian, Asian and getting into the fusion foods. We were probably more similar to California at that time, than anywhere else in the world.
By the 90’s we had a good name for exciting fresh food, especially Sydney based, but great things happened all over. Interest in indigenous foods, star chefs and restaurants, local wonderful produce… And so it continues.
I was never much of a restaurant goer, but saw everything filter down into the markets and home cooking and the recipe books I read. Cuisine? A bit nebulous and changing with world fashions, but it is here.

This series is on SBS Food at the moment, haven’t seen it yet but I think I will : http://natgeotv.com/asia/saras-australia-unveiled/about have you heard of Sara La Fountain, Cali?

Oops it is nearly 1pm I’d better have an afternoon rest. Bye now.

Hi all

Neil. You are the winner this week. All on Fast800 and beers. You haven’t chimed in with any iconic NZ cuisine yet. There must be something you can think of.

Yes, musk sticks and musk Lifesavers do have that distinctive aroma and taste like they smell. I found this site. https://nomadsworld.com/australian-food/ And we all forgot Tim Tams, Australia’s gift to the world. Must admit I don’t think witchetty grubs should be included, it might be a native food but I’ve never seen one let alone eaten one. I would like to add Granny Smith apples and Macadamia nuts

Thin. From memory, wasn’t there a poster in W.A who you met whose job was transcribing or maybe you can give DD a project while she is applying for work.

Cali. We thought ‘chicken fried steak’ in a Paula Dean restaurant was bad enough. What is it with USA that deep frying is so popular. I once saw Dr M on a program where he went to a US restaurant where you could eat for free if you were over 350lbs. That’s the sort of food they served.

LJ. I once had fresh doughnuts straight out of the cooker and it is the only time I have enjoyed them. The way they serve them now is revolting and I have never been tempted. Fairy floss, I loved but now they just seem to sell pre-made packets and that also has to be fresh. So another temptation gone.

Rosy. Your salad sounds amazing, no wonder it is so popular. I love a good, flavourful pumpkin soup, I have also found a cauliflower soup which has more flavour then you would think, tastes almost like mushroom which is another one I like but I will have to find some more recipes which don’t rely on cream. I make Cinque’s mung bean stew which I think of as a soup and I’m going to try her chicken soup. Drumsticks are so cheap, it will be very economical.

Cinque. It sounds like your sister no.1 is being well looked after and enjoying having a birthday. My sister’s birthday is April 1 ( yes, April Fools Day) and I was always envious because nobody forgot her birthday. We took her out for lunch too and had a lovely catch up. She’s in Ballarat so we went to her.

Minka. Glad to see your still around and soldiering on, are you still using the Inulin? Do you have to continue after the visceral fat has gone?

Just back from op shopping. Some active wear for when I jog, still at it, I can go for 25 minutes now. A new top, two pair of jeans which make my legs look very slim and a toy keyboard for 4yo grandson who I’m sure will be a performer one day. Did some food shopping as well, just as broccoli and cauliflower become affordable, tomato prices go through the roof. Just wondering if there is any reason not to make broccoli rice instead of cauliflower rice. Has any one tried it? Well, first FD almost done, just have to remember to have my second tomorrow. Friday might just be a breakout day, have to be careful.

Turnabout – The musk sticks sound like the pink smoker lollies you’ve probably had. The guy at the farmer’s market is great. My boys always go for the chocolate, banana and whipped cream when we go there.

Klondike – I’m not sure you’d want me to list Kiwi cuisine because you ockers have claimed most of them all as your own. My favourite is pavalova, but the kiwi roast lamb is always a favourite

Hello all

Yes drowning…and I am not able to negotiate extra money due to the way my contract is set up. That’s why I was supposed to have today off in lieu but there’s just too much to do. Boss is in major panic mode and therefore so am I! Two more days….

I’ve been keeping up with your posts but no time to reply except to say musk sticks were a staple in my youth. We used to get a big white paper bag full for 20c. 40c would buy musk sticks (or other lollies), a bag of chips and an ice block!

One good thing about being busy is there is no time to eat. Had a tiny brekky, a small lunch and having a curry out of the freezer for dinner with some of my naan bread as I also had some dough in the freezer. I’m going to try Neil’s method of cooking it in the oven rather than in the frypan. Wish me luck!

Loved the chat about local fairs.

LJ, we still have the ‘Royal Show’ in Perth. I’ve never been as I don’t do large crowds but DD was taken by friends as a child and, in her second year of uni, she presented one of the uni cows. It began as a place where growers and farmers would proudly offer free samples of their produce. Now they have ‘show bags’ costing the earth.

Turn, I remember the thrill of watching candy floss evolving on the stick and the bigger thrill of parents allowing us to have one (yuk). Another staple from our seaside resort was ‘Brighton Rock’. Coming from the Fens, you may not have been exposed to such crass offerings?

Cinque, I really laughed about your summary of Australian food fare. Italian this and Greek that …. I love soups of all kinds, I won OH’s heart on a camping trip with my leek and potato soup – now a thing of the past for me but I still make it for the OFMs.

Rosy, another early rise? Your soup sounds divine. Are you fasting 5 days this week? I’m feeling proud of myself for completing just one yesterday!

Klond, if there was a transcriber in WA, it’s gone from my memory but I have full faith in your incredible recall. Well done for building up the jogging to 25 minutes. I started running in California because of a runner boyfriend. I could go one minute when we met. He said if you can run for a minute, you can run for two. He took my hand and ran with me. If you can run for two, you can run for four…. And so it developed, doubling every day until I began running obsessively for 5 miles every single day.

Klond, never tried broccoli rice. I think it’s the wrong colour to pass but also it seems it might go too mushy. I’ll leave it to you foodies to experiment.

Anzac, don’t accept the pressure. Two days to get through, just do what you can. It’s not your problem if the contract expires before the work is finished – it probably never would be. I know you’re conscientious and want to do your best. Well, you have been doing your best. So relax.

It was a hot 29C yesterday. Rain is finally forecast today! I say rain but it’s 1-2mm, not enough to get the sidewalk wet really. But the temperatures are coming down dramatically now. Off to walk now.

Crossed posts. Thin I love your advice to Anzac.
I’ve been seeing bushfire warnings for WA, I’m glad today is gentle.

Gday everyone

It has been a wet morning here on the South Coast of NSW and the forecast is for more rain this afternoon but then it is going to warm up for the weekend. The last hurrahs of warm weather so I am going to make the most of it. I think OH will be surfing Saturday morning so I am planning on a long walk and then a picnic lunch. Argh, plans. If they work out, all good.

Klondi I have made broccoli rice but I just use a box grater to ‘rice’ it instead of a food processor. Actually I use a box grater for cauliflower too. The stems are a little bit hard to get riced so I usually just eat them as I go. If I am using the stems I make a cross cut in it and then grate it. It’s nice to have the chunkier ‘rice’ of the stems in it for different texture. I use the broccoli rice to make salads and not so much for eating with other foods (like normal rice). The broccoli has to be really fresh so that the flavour is not overpowering and also so the heads are firm enough to grate.

Anzac, I hope you are not overdoing it too much. You can only do what you can do! Look after yourself.

LJ, it sounds like you had a nice lunch out and glad it was worth it to not have the noodles and then enjoy the cinnamon bun. I love noodles too but it really needs a good cook so that the flavour is there without all that oiliness and also so the noodles are not overcooked.

Hope everyone is having great day and that the FDs go easy for those of you fasting.
I am in maintenance mode at the moment, not gaining but not losing either. That’s fine by me but I am not giving up my FDs.

Ok I best go and do some more work. Take care all x

Oooh! I just realised I used my work email to set up my account here so I will have to re-register with another name. I will make is as close as possible to Anzac65

Oh Thanks Rabbette, I will give it a go

Just want to share a tip. PORTOBELLO MUSHROOMS! A friend gave me this tip. In fact Portobello Mushrooms are ONLY 100gm = 22 calories and average Portobello Mushroom is ONLY 150gm. So not much calories for FD. I tried cooking them under the grill (Yumm!) but too busy with work so now put in lidded microwave container topped with ample shredded kale (thank you Coles!) and a tomato and carrot for 2 minutes. Wallaa! a lovely meal ! and very calorie efficient!. Throw in a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar for added taste. Great to go. The Portobello Mushroom tastes like eating steak Yeah! I eat them for FD (twice) and love them so much eat them for NFD too!

Hi everyone, back after a busy few days (with some eating challenges which could have been worse, so I’m not too stressed about it!.

Minka, also fasting tomorrow, and I think a few days of FFDs are needed to get me back on track properly. Maybe back to normal FD800 by Monday.

Quacka, yay about the oven – now let’s hope the electrician receives it and it’s installed as wished before Easter.

Anzac65, hang in there, not much longer and you’ll be done. Savoury instead of sweet? Not me, though I in more recent times (2-3 years) have enjoyed far too many potato crisps. Working that out of my system! By the way, as Rosy Posy mentioned, lamingtons are very “Australian”, and what about Violet Crumbles? I know they’re very like Crunchie bars, but my brother always buys some when he visits from Arizona as he much prefers the crisper honeycomb.

CalifDreamer – do “lamingtons” ring any bells for you? Start with square pieces of plain cake, dip into runny chocolate icing, then roll in coconut. Very popular when I was a kid.

LJoyce and Cinque, yes, my friend is enjoying the chocolates – she has been mete-ing out one each to her and her husband after dinner each night.

Klondikequeen, The chocolates I bought are a VERY expensive and specialist brand of truffles, quite exclusive and very pricey. The box I passed on cost around $35 for 24 chocolates. Won’t make that mistake again. Oh, by the way, also having the same problem with rings getting looser – moving to my middle finger with some of them. And neilithicman, same with the wrist – watchband is now on its 5th notch instead of the 4th.

Klondikequeen, I went on a central Australian holiday when at school and did try a fried witchetty grub – tasted rather like fried bacon.

thinatlast, the Royal Melbourne (Agricultural) Show sounds very like the Perth one. Still agricultural, but the show bags are ultra-pricey. Kids are given a day’s holiday on a Thursday while the show is on. It goes for about 10 days. Also, there are still some local agricultural shows in various areas – one north of Melbourne, the Whittlesea Show, is usually held over a Saturday/ Sunday. Speaking of Easter chocolate, have you tried the Red Tulip rabbits? The chocolate for those is quite thick. In recent years, I’ve just been avoiding the supermarket aisle where they’re being sold, to avoid buying any. One less thing to add to the temptation list! 🙂

Keep on the downward trail everyone!

Good morning everyone,

Welcome Linda B! Lovely to have you here!
Congratulations on that 8+ kg gone!
It must be annoying to lose more slowly, but who cares about deadlines? 😉
Onward and downward.

Such a great tip about those portobellos (or any mushroom come to think of it).

LJoyce, it sounds like you are having lovely days, I hope you had a good fast day. (I did!)

Quacka, happy maintenance. So glad you are getting a wonderful weekend away in the gorgeous weather.

Such sensible advice re the broccoli rice. I was thinking it might work to cut off the buds, grate the stems, then sprinkle over the buds at the end that would steam in the residual heat.
Did you try it Klondi?

Anzac, best wishes for a great last day, and leaving on a high note.
Then three days in bed! or doing whatever you like!

So good of Rabbette to pop in with a solution. I hope it works!

Hi Minka, lovely to see your post. I almost decided to do back to back fast days, but no, so I will just pass the fast baton to you and hope you have an excellent fast day.

Betsy, hold on to those rings! What an exciting problem to be having. You can give a little squee! every time you have to tighten your watch strap.
I think that your taste for extremely expensive chocolates is a good one. It means you gave your friend a very special gift, and that when you next buy some you will appreciate them so much more. And it helps you turn your nose at the cheap cr*p in the supermarket aisles. As you walk down the next aisle along 😉 .

Hello Size 9! What a lovely milestone Rosy! Another squee!

Well I am feeling like I am beginning to recover from my busy time (touch wood and whistle) and hoping I can get a lot of things done today. It is lovely day after fast day and I am going vegetable shopping soon and planning to have an all veggie meal this evening.

I do love my day after fast day!

Cheers all!

The weekend approaches, Hopefully I can restrain myself from getting too carried away, especially since I was feeling so awful after the junk food last weekend, and my parents are having a big shin-dig this weekend to celebrate their 70th birthdays. I’m definitely going to have a low-cal beer or 2 tonight though, it’s been a long week.

Good morning all.

I’m taking a break from house cleaning. The thing about having all the family over for dinner once a month is it encourages me to give the house a really thorough cleaning, rather than the more basic effort that happens when it’s just me here.

Linda.b welcome to the southern hemisphere forum. It sounds like you are well into the swing of a 5:2 regime. A kilo a week on just 2 FDs per week is exceptional, the average rate of weight loss is usually less than than when you only reduce calories twice a week. It is quite normal to plateau, it happens to most of us and the solution can vary from person to person. Some people find there are certain foods than make it hard to lose weight and need to exclude them, others find they need to be a bit more careful on their NFDs without actually restricting certain foods. Others add extra FDs, although I personally find this just drives me to eat more on the NFDs, so it’s pointless for spurring weight loss.
The other thing I’d say, is that as you lose weight your TDEE goes down, so you need to be eating a bit less on the non-fast days to keep the weight loss going. A really helpful bit of advice I was given here was to look at my TDEE for my goal weight rather than my current weight, and to try to stay around that level on my NFDs. https://thefastdiet.co.uk/how-many-calories-on-a-non-fast-day/ Not only does this help your weight loss it also lets you practice the amount of food you will need to eat to maintain your weight loss once you get to your goal.
Quite a few of us use the spiralised veg. I make my own, but I have noticed that all of my local supermarkets offer pre-packaged option – I prefer the fresher and cheaper option of doing it myself.
Most of our FD recipes are posted here: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/southern-hemispherites-fd-recipes/

Neil, when using a low carb regime to lose weight most of the consequences of an indulgent “off script” meal is that it takes you out of ketosis. If you can indulge but still avoid the foods that will do this (ie the refined carbs) then you are much less likely to have those unwell days afterward. (I did a VLCD for many months that relied on ketosis and I learned that one the hard way.) Doesn’t mean you can’t have that beer, just be aware of your food and drink choices.

Another option for an alternative to the cauli or broccoli rice might be to use kohlrabi – although that’s probably not going to be cheaper even with cauli’s at their current prices. I’ve never tried making this with a grater I always used the food processor.

Yes we have a Royal show in Adelaide too – I suspect all the capitals still do. I haven’t been to the one in Adelaide for years. It used to be a big treat to come to Adelaide to go to the show when I was a kid – which happened about once every three years.

Good morning Cinque, Rosy, Minka, Betsy, Cali, Anzac, Quacka, Thin, Klondi, Turn, and anyone else I’ve forgotten.

Hooray! Thanks Rabbette

Have read everyone’s post quickly but will reply later. Worked from 7.00am until 9.45pm yesterday so the boss said she hopes I can get away by 3.00pm. A whole hour off [rolls eyes]

Then a whole week off! To finally get back into some exercise and healthy eating. I don’t dare weigh myself at the moment but that will all change now

Welcome back Arel!

CalifD, my American OH has trouble following British drama. He is used to having the plot spelled out for him rather than working out the details as things unfold. But if it makes you feel any better, DD and I were also pausing it frequently to exchange questions about what was going on and who is on which side of the spy game. Stick with it! I think the flashbacks occurred in episode 2 or 3 so, don’t worry, you’re not going crazy! Final episode for us tonight!

Off to an Italian restaurant. Oh dear. There goes my experience with the 58s.

Anzac, are you having a few drinks tonight?

@anzac65: This made me giggle
“Test
(testing I still exist after changing my email)”

I had an image of suddenly disappearing! Like physically disappearing.

@cinque: yes I like popping over to help if I think I got something that might work. I suppose on forums I’m a bit of a social butterfly. In person I’m quite shy. Although I heard from a friends parent that all the kids on the bus said ….”look a unicorn” pointing at me, due to apparently my abundant amount of color from head to toe 😉 so now her family call me unicorn girl. Ha that would be a good name on here. (now pondering if i can change my handle…)

Saturday 7am. Have been reading posts but too busy to post mysekf so try to remember the conversations to comment.

When I make cauliflower rice I usually add broccoli as well. Probably 3/4 cauli and 1/4 broccoli. Plus I add lots of other goodies such as onion, celery, chilli, capsicum, carrot and whatever else I have to hand.

Was it Cali who posted the menu from the so called Aussie American restaurant? The only Aussie part of the menu was the names – absolutely nothing (in my mind) about the food that is Aussie food. My favourite Aussie food and the one thing I feel is so occa is the good ol Aussie rissole. Anyone remember the movie The Castle? “What’s for tea darl?”…..Rissoles !! I so love that movie. Rissoles were a staple in our house growing up as we lived on a tight budget and mince meat was cheap. I have to say I can’t remember ever eating steak. Mostly braises and stews made with the cheaper cuts of meat.

Musk sticks – yummo I loved these as a child. I probably still would love them but since I don’t consume any sugar these days I’m sure the sugar hit would make me feel unwell.

OH had to buy new clothes this week….again. He has gone from XL to Medium in shirts/t shirts. 38 to 32 in pants/shorts and has bought a Jacks belt (one that can be cut down to a length that suits the wearers size) as we could not find an ‘off the shelf’ belt small enough for him. I must say he is looking super trim and looking at photo’s of him from several years ago the transformation is amazing.

Reno update. New kitchen and pantry is ready to be fitted 2 weeks earlier than expected….Yay yay yay. So yesterday the kitchen plumbing was disconnected and last night we dismantled and removed the kitchen bench. We will re use this under our back verandah next to the bbq – will be great to have a bench with sink, hot and cold water for when we cook outside. Today we will remove the rest of the wall tiles and fix up all the holes in the gyprock. Unfortunately the tiles must have been stuck on with super glue and we were unable to get then off without destroying the gyprock. So we are living in total disarray until Tuesday when the new kitchen is fitted. I’m so excited it’s happening sooner than expected as I am totally, absolutely, completely over this renovation stuff.

Must go make another cuppa and then start on removing the rest of the tiles. Happy Saturday everyone

Hi Everyone,

A slow Saturday for me, it is almost 9am already, but I am preparing for the end of daylight saving, so that makes it alright.

I need to move tomorrow’s fast day as we are having a BBQ tomorrow, in the evening here at the flats to farewell a tenant, and the summer, and I want to share it. I thought about fasting today but no, I’ll make it Monday.

Arelkade, so glad to see you back. I do hope the universe is gently, for a time at least, and you can get back into your old 5:2 habits.

Linda.B, I’m glad LJoyce gave the link for our recipes thread, I hope you find some inspiration there! I make the same thing every Fast Day (miso soup) so i am not fussed about fast days recipes, but I love hearing about the ones people find to make their fast days special.

Neil, enjoy that shindig! Best wishes to your parents, what wonderful milestones!
It helps me to remember the focus is really the people, not the food and drink, and that I can actually enjoy the celebration more by concentrating on people and leaving the food mostly alone.

Thin, keep warm. I hope some rain does come. I did enjoy yesterday.
With happy restraint. 🙂 And got lots done… in the morning anyway.
Maybe your Italian restaurant was a nice surprise, with lovely 58kg-friendly meals.

LJoyce, how lovely to have the house nice, and family coming.

Anzac, so glad you changed that email address easily. Woot! It is holiday time. Hoping Maxx is letting you have a big lie in.

Rabbette, it sounds like you are a rainbow unicorn. What fun. Rabbette is a lovely name. Pop in as often as you like.

Cali, the girls are settling down and the new place is feeling like home. babysitting was lovely, and I might need to pop over today, just to see them.
I do hope you are fast asleep now and can wake up to a lovely NFD tomorrow.

Gday, how pleased OH must be with his new shape and health. great work both of you!

Klondi, I do hope the chicken soup is a lovely success.

Such a good question about how we got out of step with our natural body hunger signals.
In my case, food was a reward and a solace and we didn’t have many feasts when we were kids, so as I got to be a teenager and had more opportunities to eat cakes and sweets, I did. And I was pretty depressed in those years and needed lots of solace and rewards. I also had the idea that it was somehow good not to drink a lot of water, so I think that is when my brain gave up on sending ‘thirsty’ signals and gave ‘hungry’ ones instead.
Luckily this was balanced out with me being very ‘healthy vegetarian’ and very active, so while I was overweight, and bingeing way too often, my weight didn’t balloon until my health got bad and I was very sedentary.

But I must say, since the 80’s the pressure through advertising and access to high sugar/fat/salt foods means that it is amazing some people are still slim! Our whole social setting, along with our love for a feast, works so strongly against natural regulation!

Well, I’m off to face the day. I’m a bit creaky, but looking forward to a whole, beautiful Saturday. Best wishes all.

Worrying about you, Lindsay. But if you are still busy and looking after your self, then don’t take time to assure us.

And really hoping you might post, Merry. I think of you all the time.

Rosy, it’s Brando’s on Albany Hwy in Vic Park. Yes, I recommend it. I’m not really a fan of Italian restaurants but the OFMs love it and it’s our local, very casual, we’ve been many times. They haven’t changed their four salads in the 15 years we’ve been frequenting it and I’m usually stuck with them as I wouldn’t ever order pasta or pizza. Last night I had grilled barramundi which was very good but I forgot to ask for the salad dressing on the side. I also forgot to ask for no salt on the chips so that made them very unappealing to me which was a good thing.

Boatshed: Hmmm, we haven’t been since they first opened which must be about 23 years ago. Vowed never to go back as the owner was rude and condescending to my American guests. Coming from the country where ‘customer is king’, we couldn’t believe how he spoke to them. Friends report that the service is diabolical and the food overpriced. They get by on their views and a lot of weddings. We walk past it every morning and often see a truck delivery bearing the information ‘ready made meals delivered straight to your restaurant’ on the side. That says it all. So, are you going?!

There used to be a converted container located near that site selling coffee. It was a great place to sit casually in the park with the dog and the baby, no pretence. Locals were sorry that the owner lost his concession in favour of the upmarket restaurant being constructed. Council conditions dictated that they also built the Coode St. jetty and public toilets which they were also required to maintain. They don’t.

Cinque, yes there’s such a movement to get us to eat salt and sugar, it is a wonder anyone is slim. And I do notice many more morbidly obese people about in recent months. I see people literally struggling to walk, they are so fat. It’s alarming that so many of them are so young. Parents are now outliving their offspring due to obesity.

Rosy, did you feel the dramatic drop in temperature yesterday morning?

Hi again Rosy (and sorry everyone else, this is mostly irrelevant for you).

Our other posts crossed so I hadn’t read about your most recent loss. Another 2kg since we met? Amazing! I’m afraid I’m at the top end of 58s after last night but tomorrow’s a FD so all will be well.

Bravo’s is at the other end of the Vic Park strip I believe? I think we went there once and, if it’s the one I’m thinking of, it was fairly high priced for Italian but we noticed there were no children running around as seems condoned in ‘family’ style restaurants. We thought it was worth the extra cost to enjoy a meal without having someone’s else’s little darlings playing under our feet! We celebrated our engagement at Rambla but it was called something else back then. Yes, we have been to Globe, Mr Walker and Coco’s. I used to know the guy who owned the latter two from the gym I went to. We’re going back a number of years now. Are you looking for a place to eat in my immediate area?

On the subject of feral children, has anyone paid extra on an airline to sit in the ‘quiet zone’? If so, was it worth it?