This topic contains 27,925 replies, has 832 voices, and was last updated by Neilithicman 2 days, 12 hours ago.
Lots of posts these days, just skimmed them, will go through again later.
Post FD check in. Second FD went well until the evening when we discovered that there were some chocolate caramel bars left from the weekend. Even so, down another pound. Thanks Cinque, hadn’t been counting the oil. Total fruit/veg score for the first three days of the week is 25.
Had to go home from work today, my vision went all wonky, it felt like I was looking at everything through a cracked window. Went to the doctor and all his tests were normal. He called an eye specialist for a second opinion. He thought it could have been something affecting the temporal nerve, which can happen if you’re sick or stressed. I’m picking the latter. I had to call my parents to drive me home, lucky they live in the same city and are both retired so they were free to pick me up.
Good evening all. Just got home from babysitting duties.
My great nephew (7) is banned from playing minecraft for 2 more days for bad behaviour. He is allowed tv though and this afternoon he was searching through the pay tv kids channels looking for a program where you basically watch someone else playing minecraft. Oh dear!
Neil, I really hope you find your vision goes back to normal in the morning.
I had something which sounds similar, although it was just in one eye. Mine was caused by a temporary increase in blood pressure which affected the blood flow in the carotid artery. Mine happened occasionally over a few weeks and then stopped. I was told that if this keeps happening over months it can apparently cause a blockage where the carotid forms a Y junction in the neck. They also said that this sight issue was more common for people prone to the type of migraines which include vision issues.
Also, very well done on reaching another weight loss goal.
Penguin, enjoy having the grand-dog. It sounds like you are really looking forward to it.
Craz, I think soup is such a handy FD meal. Having a stash in the freezer means you are always prepared on FDs. I panic a bit when my FD soup supply is getting low, because while it’s there I know I don’t need to give any thought to planning FD meals.
I know what you mean about the double chin. I was very happy to lose mine, although I now have rather too much excess skin there now.
Cali, is your unseasonable cold spell continuing?
It’s weird here, the ski season started in May – that rarely happens here, in fact it’s often July or August before they get any decent snow,
Quacka, Anzac, GDSA and anyone else who’s weight loss is stalled on on a go-slow campaign. Quacka’s post reminded me that within 3 months on 5:2 I hit a plateau and ended up getting stuck at 79kg. I just checked – I was stuck there for 7 months before my weight finally went below 79 and moved slowly down to 75 and then this year to 73. No amount of stressing or extra FDs seemed to make my weight move before it was good and ready. It does move in the end but boy it takes some patience.
Betsy, Well done with the weight loss and inches lost. It can be difficult when you wistfully watch the speed at which some people lose weight. I’m also on the short side and I found it meant I had to adjust my expectations of the rate of weight of weight loss, because it will invariably be slower due to the lower TDEE for a short person. You are getting very close to being able to jettison the obese label – that mattered more to me than any other weight loss goal I had.
Cinque, congrats on the 4 year anniversary.
Not needing the butter is a big reason that I make my mash with 3-4 veg. It also has so much more flavour than potatoes. I also like the fact that I can have a large serve and it’s the same as putting 3-4 different veg on my plate. I usually include cauli and or broccoli as it keeps the calories down and I find including at least one orange veg gives the best flavour hit. Sometimes I do something that’s more smash than mash (nice with green peas or silverbeet added) and sometimes I do the opposite and puree with a stick blender. I find it really useful as an alternative to rice, pasta or polenta as a base for curry, chilli, stew or bolognese.
Hello to Merry, Thin, Rosy, Turn, Linsday, Klondi, Intesha and anyone else who is readingy that I haven’t mentioned.
I watched “The Big Crash Diet Experiment” that was on the ABC this week – https://iview.abc.net.au/show/big-crash-diet-experiment
It reminded me so much of my extended period on a similar 800cal VLCD a few years ago. I trust I’ll never need to do that ever again.
Interesting results with only 4 people (also there has been much larger recent studies with similar success). I suspect it’s one of the reasons DrM now recommends 800cal every day for up to 12 weeks, especially for those with diabetes issues.
Thankfully I managed to get the housework done today that I didn’t have the energy for yesterday. It took my mind off food for most of the day – double win.
NFD Fess Up:
Breakfast: pot of tea
Late morning: an orange
Lunch: Small bowl of cream of veg soup, 2 slices kibbled rye toast, 2 boiled eggs.
Late Afternoon: cup of tea and one slice of salami (eaten while making mini pizzas with the kids for their tea).
Dinner: Small serve of chilli con carne with extra beans. Served with steamed cauliflower and mixed veggie mash and a dollop of greek yoghurt.
I will probably also have some stewed apple-rhubarb-sultana, but I’m letting the first course settle first before I decide.
Supper: a hot drink made with either almond or skim milk
FD and Bridge for me tomorrow. Good night all.
Good morning,
1st a correction and apology. My 4th year anniversary is not until July the 14th. Strictly at 3 years and 46 weeks at the moment. Six weeks to party time!
Ooh it is lovely day-after-fast-day for me. Cali, cheering you on if you are fasting today, otherwise keep hold of the good wishes for tomorrow.
Neil, what a relief that your eyes are better today. Such a scare. But hooray for that four day weekend coming up. You need it.
LJoyce, yes I agree with everything you said about mash. What a great comfortfood it is, and so brilliant at getting out serves of veggies in.
I have also been playing with an African version called nhopi. The first recipe I saw was polenta with mashed pumpkin and peanut butter, which is a very nice mix. I have seen versions of just pumpkin and peanut butter that end up setting, in a jelly consistency, and others with sugar and spices added as a morning porridge.
Here’s a nice link for anyone interested to try it. https://www.princesstafadzwa.com/nhopi/
I missed the Crash Diet tv show (that’s what happens when my sisters visit 😉 ) so I am watching it now. Partly… keep missing bits as I type. I have seen it before, I thought I had. I agree that the research it is based on also influenced Dr Mosley’s Fast800. And also supports my theory about the difference good support through weight loss into maintenance can make.
Accountability:
B Toast and spreads and COFFEE!
L. Vegetable pot pie
S. Vegetable and chorizo soup
D. Tinnan Queema, basmati rice and salad. Followed by my hot cocoa.
Good morning all
So glad your eyes are improving Neil, enjoy your 4 day weekend. We have a long weekend next weekend and I am gagging for it. I’m doing 11+ hour days at the moment and in all-day workshops with a stress-head running them and shouting at us to pay attention. I am not familiar with this particular loan product and it is very complex and I am continually bewildered by the terminology and acronyms. I am more than exhausted mentally and physically
My weight has only crept down this week despite the big and positive changes I’ve made. I’m trying not to be disappointed but actually I really am. However I’m having quite bad bathroom issues – possibly due to the sudden reduction in starchy carbs? SO that might be a contributor to the slowness. So I’ve just put a reminder in my phone to get back into daily Metamucil.
LJ, I think 86 is my plateau like your 79. I’m 86.4 this morning, down only 300g this week
Cinque, hope you had a lovely time with your sisters
I did end up caving a bit on my FD yesterday with some rice crackers in the final hour of the workshop. I’m not mad at myself as it was just too much and I could have had chips or chocolate biscuits but I didn’t. I’m having a super controlled NFD today with no breakfast, a chicken salad for lunch and something healthy for dinner
Penguin, enjoy doggie-sitting. I’m so envious of the UK and your dog-friendly laws. I’m on the My Labrador Friends forum and most members are in the UK and take their pooches on trains/buses/taxis and into shops/malls/restaurants. Here you can’t take your dog anywhere. Such a nanny state mentality. There’s even a photo of one lady voting with her dog sitting by her side while she is at the booth.
Ok, off to the big room for the torture…I mean workshop. Have a great day all
Oooh Neil that doesn’t sound good – although pleased to read your eye condition is better today.
Penguin, I love your description of the grand-dog. How fun with him (or her … did you say?).
Cinque that diet program has been on before – I remember being shocked by the woman addicted to fast food. I’ve had (have?) my food issues, as we all have I suppose, but the idea of eating that sort of food is not one of them.
FD for me today – anyone with me? Oops my consultation is waiting. Back in a minute
Betsy – I just noticed something interesting. You and I have lost almost the identical amount of weight but because I started so much heavier I am now exactly where you started – 86.4! A funny coincidence
We are organising Maxx’s holiday accommodation for our trip and it has been challenging. We want something so he is never in a cage but also safe and not roaming around a large farm without supervision. We settled on one place but became frustrated at the owners lack of communication and commitment so we decided to look elsewhere and found a great place about 1 hour North West of us and after some nice reassuring phone calls and checks of reviews OH booked him in this morning. Phew! He will be housed with similar sized dogs and have free roam between a big indoor room where they all sleep and a large outdoor yard with plenty of trees to sniff and pee on and he will have other dogs company 24 x 7. He will have a ball. My heart contracts every time I think about leaving him there and driving off but at least we can be reassured he will be safe and happy. You have to put in writing that your dog is friendly but if some idiot does that but actually leaves a vicious dog it will quickly be isolated they tell us. You can’t guarantee anything of course but hopefully all will be well.
LJ, they had a segment this morning about ‘screen time’ and the impacts on kids on the breakfast show I watch while getting ready for work. Parents are genuinely struggling to get the kids off their screens and out into the fresh air and it is a massive problem. Did you let your great-nephew watch the Minefield program LJ? It must be very difficult for those of you who have to babysit.
I’m with you Lindsay on the fast-food front. I have massive food issues but eating maccas or KFC rubbish isn’t one of them. Thankfully
Hello everyone on the last day of May! Brr! It’s still cold here, though not as bad as a couple of days ago. Finally managing a FD800 today – yesterday’s turned into a CD, but never mind. Just reset and off we go again.
LJoyce, yes, I agree that to finally be able to ditch the “obese” label will be a major milestone. I have 2 kg to go. Like Anzac65, though, I would like to lose several kg quickly – weigh-in with my doctor mid-July, plus see the respiratory specialist re the sleep apnoea. He has said I’d need to lose about 20 kg (be around 66 kg) before I could have another sleep test and possibly stop using the CPAP machine. Realistically – will probably be closer to 69-70 kg then. But… it’s always good to aim high.
Anzac65, your workshop does sound like a torture chamber – crazy presenter, plus snacks everywhere! You’re doing well to be mainly resisting all the food. Good that you could find a suitable “home away from home” for Maxx while away. I remember the first time I had to leave my first cat, Sweetie, at a cattery – left the place just about in tears! Really felt like I was deserting her. But of course, she survived and so did I 🙂 . Interesting, as you said, that we’ve lost the same amount of weight; how tall are you? At 154 cms, I’m a real shortie.
Neilithicman, read of your eye episode with concern. Glad it all seems to have cleared, but not a nice occurrence.
Congrats, Cinque, at your (nearly) 4th year anniversary. It’s so encouraging to know of folk who have adopted and persevered with this WOL.
Penguin, enjoy your time with the granddog, and let’s hope there are no more chocolate caramel treats hidden in the cupboard.
GDayfromSA, good to have you back, but sorry you’ve been having such a difficult time recently.
Can’t remember the other posts, and don’t want to go back a page in case I lose what I’ve already written. I know there were interesting comments there, from Quacka and thinatlast, merryme, CalifDreamer and others. Sorry, next time I’ll make notes.
Have a good day and weekend!
Back into the old routine. Get up, walk the dog, give him his breakfast, make OH a cup of tea, make myself one and unbutton the MacBook.
Yesterday was not a fast day. We went to our favourite country pub for a meal. I had a couple of beers and I am still down another pound?? If I gave the impression that this is a totally dog friendly country I got it wrong. We can’t take them into most restaurants, shops or public buildings. The pub we go to has a more formal dining room into which we could not have taken him, but everyone eats in the bar. The owner is a dog fan, so we get a bigger welcome when we take him and he gets a biscuit. On the way we had to drive a couple of miles on the main road joining the English Midlands to South Wales. On a 70 mph limit stretch a clutch of very young ducklings were crossing. Mum must already have been over. I managed to miss them all and they made it to the central reservation, which just left them another two lanes of traffic to get through. I looked on the way back and there seemed to be no casualties. The art exhibition we are going to this morning is in a large tent in the grounds of the gallery. They wouldn’t let him in the main building.
Anzac it is always difficult to find the right place. When we moved here we found a really smart set of very professional, clean, well run kennels. The dogs hated them. We settled for a less smart looking place where they and the owner liked each other and they went there for the rest of their time.
Summer seems to be arriving. We have the House Martins and Swallows up from Africa. No Cuckoos yet but they may be here; they are getting scarcer and it is no longer one of the regular sounds. I think I heard a Swift yesterday. I am tidying up the edge of the garden very carefully. I don’t want to harm the frogs and slow worms. I try to leave a little corridor of vegetation for them to move through. Unfortunately the neighbours” cats regard it as a hunting zone because there are also mice and shrews in there.
There was a stat on the current affairs program over here the other day that said that the current generation walk on average 16 kilometres less per day than their grandparents did. I guess that’s because there are fewer physical labouring jobs these days, participation rates in organised sport have plummeted and the of course…devices
Good morning everyone
Ha, only 5kms each way, Penguin? My friends son is very overweight and complains about it constantly but he won’t walk to school and it’s probably only about 1.5kms one way. He also eats a lot of junk food, I’ve seen him smash a whole pack of pineapple lumps and his Mum tells me he will eat a whole box of tee every snacks. I shudder to think how many calories are in that.
Neil, sorry to hear about your eye issues but glad they are sorted and it has lead to you having a break from work. You really need it. Sometimes our bodies give us a not so gentle reminder that stress is hurting us physically and we already know what it does to us mentally.
Anzac, your body is probably adjusting to the new way of eating. It is common for people to have toilet issues when changing their diet dramatically and there is a thread on this site where people discuss what has been happening to them when they started 5:2. Obviously, I was bored at work one day! Lol
Next week your weight will be down some more. Don’t be discouraged. As others have said before, weight loss is not consistent. Sometimes more, sometimes less, but 300g is still a loss 🙂
It’s a beautiful Saturday morning here and I am about to go and roast some pumpkin for a meal I’m making for lunch. It is pumpkin, spinach and ricotta scroll made with filo pastry. Yes, it’s the filo that I bought at Christmas time and it needs to be used up. I bought a beautiful big pumpkin from a roadside stall and have given half to my sister in law. We still have a huge half to use so I am going to make some pumpkin soup (for me, no way OH will eat it) and I think we will also have a pumpkin salad at some stage. Maybe one with baby spinach and walnuts or maybe one made with pearl couscous, except that is high carb.
My weight is still at 65.5 after two NFDs although I have been eating carefully, well except for some chocolate, but as it was a NFD it doesn’t really matter.
Hope you all have a lovely weekend. No fishing for us this weekend as there is big swells running. OH is out looking for a surf right now. In two weeks we will be on the plane at this time! I dreamed about it last night so I am obviously thinking about it. Can’t wait.
Take care all x
Welcome to the weekend SHs
Anzac, Given that you have spent your days sitting in a conference room and not moving, you probably had a very sedentary TDEE this week so any loss is a good loss.
We talk about TDEE here but not BMR. I think it’s also worth remembering what your BMR is – that’s what you need for a day where you don’t leave the bed or chair. I’m guessing yours is around 1480 calories per day. It’s easy to overestimate how active we really are when most of our day is actually spent sitting down. I find it useful to look at the difference between my BMR and the TDEEs for sedentary or active and ask myself if I’ve really moved enough today to burn those additional 300, 600… calories. I do about 5 x 60min brisk walks most weeks but it’s not enough to even get me into the “lightly active” TDEE (yes I’ve tested it with calorie counting and weighing myself). The calculations seem to assume a level of incidental activity throughout the day in addition to specific exercise or sports sessions. It took me a while to figure out why I thought I met the description of an activity level but in practice my TDEE didn’t match the calculation. There is also some natural variation, mostly +-10% and I also know I fall in the -10% camp.
Neil, that’s what happens when you no longer have enough of those starch loving gut bugs to deal with a starchy binge. I always found that trying to deal with your hunger while you get back into ketosis was enough to stop the desire to eat starch again anytime soon.
Penguin, I doubt that many people walk 5km to school these days. I remember when I got to age 10 being allowed to ride my bike to primary school. I would have been allowed to do this at a younger age had it not involved crossing a busy interstate highway.
Quacka, that scroll sounds lovely, think cheeses like ricotta and feta go really well with pumpkin or sweet potato inside pastry parcels.
I have a busy cooking day ahead. The family are coming to dinner tomorrow night and it’s Italian night so I want to get a lot of the prep done today, with things ready to just slide into the oven. I’m doing an antipasto patter, osso bucco, pasta with meatballs, chicken primavera, risotto milanese, steamed greens and carrots and for dessert meringata (a type of Italian icecream cake). I also have a family birthday tea to go to for a 3 year old tonight. As his mum is working all day I’ve offered to take a casserole, so I’ll take some of the pasta with meatballs.
I had an odd FD yesterday. When I got home from bridge late afternoon I ate a cold boiled egg to tide me over until dinner and then relaxed with a pot of tea. My appetite just didn’t kick in after that so by 8pm I put the minestrone back in the fridge and had a large mug of cocoa instead. It’s very rare for me to not want my dinner on a FD. I have noticed that cold hard boiled eggs have had this type of sedating effect on my appetite before. I’m wondering if it’s the specific balance of protein and fat that they contain. I might need to make sure there are some in the fridge for those days where the afternoon munchies are being a pest.
I saw this article and thought of both Thin’s daughter and Anzac’s Maxx and his shoe fetish. https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-06-01/what-dogs-eat-when-youre-not-looking/11168644 They say that you should train your dog about what can be eaten by trading them for other high value things. In the Anzac household I suspect that’s steak.
Well I can’t procrastinate any longer, I need to start chopping things and get this food prep moving.
Have a nice weekend all.
Anzac, my DD is with you about dogs not being allowed in so many public places. When you consider the feral, undisciplined children that we often have to endure, there’s no logic to banning well-behaved dogs. Pet ownership affords so many benefits, it should be strongly encouraged and supported.
After our beloved dingo died, DD operated a dog boarding service in our home as a school girl. The owners loved it because we only accepted one owner’s dog(s) at a time and they became part of our family. Dogs would stay from 1 night to 4 months and, over time, there were many repeat visitors. We charged quite a lot of money but it was still cheaper than kennels and dogs were rarely, if ever, left alone. They’d get lots of exercise as we’re all walkers. We followed all the owners’ instructions about food, etc (and, boy, a lot of dog owners have very poor knowledge about nutrition). It was a great way to always have a dog around without the long-term commitment and allowed us to become familiar with a wide variety of breeds. We had a dog booked in just about all the time, except obviously when we were on holiday ourselves.
First day of winter? 26C.
Good morning,
Welcome to winter. The snow season has started in Victoria, earlier than usual.
Anzac, scales aren’t worth arguing with. Spit at them!
In a couple of years you will look back and this confusing time will all make sense.
Give yourself 72 elephant stamps for getting through another horror week being good to your health. And please tell Maxx to give you a big hug from me. (So glad you have found a good place for him to stay).
Lindsay, it is so sad how many people are addicted to really awful food. It breaks my heart. Not that I haven’t binged on some shocking food in my time, in a Neil-with-crackers way, but luckily not an addiction.
How are the bees going, have you dared to go near them again?
Betsy I do hope yesterday’s fast day was an excellent one and you feel lovely and empty this morning.
Penguin, it is amazing that Anzac hasn’t pushed through the monitor and punched you on the nose for all that losing-pounds-while-drinking-beer malarkey.
Lovely to hear of all the birds and walks and happy dogs.
And what an excellent OH you have. Cheers to Mrs Penguin.
Quacka, what a treat a big beautiful pumpkin is! So many recipes! That pumpkin scroll sounds wonderful!
And only a fortnight to go and then an easy little plane trip and a wonderful holiday!
Neil, sympathy to you and your gut microbes for that binge. Had you just got home to your four day weekend after those grueling weeks? No wonder you had to do collapse-in-a-heap type behaviour. I hope you have got lots of non-junk-food treats to give yourself over the next few days.
LJoyce, good point about those days where no exercise is done. TDEE and BMR. Not fair when they are also days that make us so exhausted.
I hope you are having a wonderful cook up! Such a delicious menu!
Hi Thin. Can I have some of that 26 degrees please?
Accountability
Yesterday went well and was over 6 serves of veggies.
Today:
B: Eggs and greens on toast, with ajvar.
L: Poha with cauliflower and peas.
S: Lentil and tomato soup.
D: Same as yesterday but with broccoli instead of salad.
Good morning. Weigh in first. By Thursday (1 week after I got back from holidays and had my first FD) I’d dropped 3 kilos, but it had drifted back up by a kilo over the past 2 days. No reason, and I’ve done nothing to cause it, so I’m blaming the vagaries of my metabolism. No problem – still 2 kilos down. I’m going to weigh each Thursday and give myself another 2 weeks to get to my pre-holiday weight.
LJ screen time and kids is a real issue. Even in early primary school they are being given maths homework in IPads. Easier for overworked teachers who don’t have to mark – the program does it for them – but still, do those who don’t master the maths then just slip through the cracks?. I hate seeing young ones being ‘babysat’ by screens while their parents are out to dinner. I’m pretty tech savvy, so it’s not a case of an old fart thinking about how it used to be back in the day, but I think it’s a shame whole families aren’t engaging over dinner.
Betsy and LJ I’m also a shortie – as one of my dear brothers commented once, ‘I’ve only ever seen shorter legs on a duck’. I65 cm if I stand up tall.
Anzac great you have found good holiday accommodation for Maxx. I wonder if he’ll come home calmer, after being part of a pack?
I’ll take a bit of the 26 degrees too Thin – it is damned chilly here in Brisbane. We have the little girls with us this weekend while their parents go to Melbourne for a wedding. I practically had to push DD out the door – SIL went more happily. First time the little ones have been left for a weekend.
Cinque I go down to talk to the girls most days. Unless I’m tinkering with the hive, they just buzz around. I don’t wear the full kit – just undo the shuttered glass window to see what they are up to. They aren’t responding aggressively – but I’ve ordered a smoker online for when the honey is ready to harvest – a bit of smoke apparently calms them right down because they interpret it as a bushfire and become calmer for reasons I can’t remember.
Penguin I bought the Diet Myth book online, and an reading it when I get a moment. Interesting fact that most of the processed food available today comes from wheat, soy, corn or meat. No wonder we’re chubbing up! I can remember when I was at school, there was hardly a fat kid and (unkindly) they were always identified that way – the fat kid in grade six, for example. Now there are so many you wouldn’t know which one was being talked about.
I dropped a jar of capers on my kitchen floor last night, and although the bottle didn’t break they’ve made a dreadful mess than needs to be cleaned up. I mustn’t have put the lid back on properly last time I used them. Oh well, floor needed washing anyway, I guess.
Anzac, 300 grams is a third of a kilo almost – slow and steady. I agree with LJ & Quacka – next week will see a difference. (And Quacka I love this site,but the toilet thread is one I’ll miss, thank you anyway. 🙂
Happy Saturday all.
Hi, quick check-in!
LindsayL, to me, 165 cms is NOT short – I’m only 154 cms (used to be 156, but I’ve shrunk). Great that you’re getting the holiday weight off steadily.
Anzac65, I was thinking about your weight and mine, and with the difference in our heights, the challenge we’re facing with weight is almost the same:
At 154 cm, the middle of the BMI range is 53 kg, which means losing a total of 33.4 kg, another 20+ from where I am;
For you at 5 ft 6, your BMI range is 57-70 kg, mid-range 64 kg. You’ve lost 13 kg to get to 86.4, so you only need to lose another 16.4 kg to reach the top of the BMI range, and 22.4 to be mid-range.
We will just keep on keeping on. 🙂
Neilithicman, I’ve recently discovered these really tasty Arnott’s cracker chips which are baked instead of fried, and it could be a disaster, except that I reserve them as an indulgence for my main NFD on Saturdays. But, fortunately for me, they don’t have the same effect on me as you have mentioned.
LJoyce, interesting comments re BMI and TDEE. From the books I’ve consulted, for my age, my lightly active TDEE when I reach my goal weight is about 1525 cals, and currently about 1800 – UNLESS I look at the BMI calculator on the Resources thread here. They seem to be using some different kind of way of calculating TDEE, and by their calculation, when I reach my goal weight of 53 kgs, my TDEE as lightly active will be about 1050 cals – to me, that is ridiculous. That would be like being on a constant very low calorie diet, every day. If I were my mother’s weight in the final several years before she died, 7 st 2 lb, about 46 kg, maybe, but at 8 st 5?? Really? I don’t think so.
Cinque, yes, brr, winter has really come here early to Victoria.
Thinatlast, 26 degrees? Lucky you! The boarding kennel you ran sounds ideal, with just one dog at a time.
Quacka, are you getting excited about your upcoming holiday? Less than 2 weeks now.
Penguin, good that the ducklings survived the road crossing. Primary school days, we walked to school, maybe less than a km, on quiet local streets; rode a bike about 1.5 miles to school for years 7 & 8 (1st & 2nd form), then was at another school with walk, then train, walk to tram, then brief walk to school, taking more than an hour each way, often carrying a 20 lb school bag (textbooks for homework). It tended to be a longish, tiring day, but not stacks of walking in there. Interesting the different eras. My mother often spoke of walking for 45 minutes each way to get to school – she lived in a rural area.
Enough for now – catch you all again later.
Sorry Anzac, wasn’t thinking. And I spoke to soon – a day later, a sensible day, and my weight is up.
Thin, when we were living in Germany we didn’t have a dog because back then they would have to go into quarantine for six months when we came home. At that time my work alternated between periods of a few years in Germany and UK. Many of the neighbours had dogs and we would host them. We probably had a dog in the house for about a quarter of the year. The results could be interesting if we subsequently met two of the dogs at the same time and they both thought we were theirs. It was during that period that I began to wonder if all Labradors called Oscar are amiable idiots or calling them Oscar dooms them.
Hi all
I’m still here. With getting ready for trip, 6 hours on the road to get here (Griffith 460k from home) and recovering from trip, I’ve not been reading all the latest posts until now. Two and a half pages later, I’ve just caught up. What a lovely supportive bunch you are. As soon as someone falters, you collectively rush in with very constructive advice. Not to mention personal pick me ups over coffee. I’m proud to be part of this group.
I won’t try and comment on everything but hope your eye issues resolve, Neil and well done on your new weight. Penguin, always enjoy your anecdotes. I also don’t drink much and as OH has epilepsy, he doesn’t drive so he never has to worry about .05 which has not done him any favours.
Not much to report. We have been here in Griffith for 3 days and will leave tomorrow and take two days to get to Tamworth where we will stay for 4 days. OH is doing well on FD, not finding AFD as confronting as he expected and not blowing his NFD too much. He is 1kg down. I have just slipped under 70kg which is also 20% off my original weight and just under my lowest in 17 years (WW). I also only had to lose 10lbs on my first WW venture. What was I thinking? I will try and keep up the with everybody more often now everything has settled.
Just a quick post as I’m just home from a birthday dinner up at Aldgate.
NFD Fess up:
Breakfast: banana and pot of tea
Snacks: a little ham eaten while unpacking the shopping
Lunch: bowl of minestrone and some zucchini-pancetta bites, then 4 meatballs (while I was cooking dozens for tonight and tomorrow)
Afternoon: 2 pieces of fruit sourdough toasted and buttered
Dinner: birthday dinner – a spoonful of various casseroles with one spoonful of rice. A piece of birthday cake.
Evening: just about to make a cup of chai
Betsy, you might want to double check that TDEE again on this site because I put your details in for a goal weight of 53kg and got a TDEE of 1384 cals, which sounds about right to me, I’m sorry to say the 1525 sounds optimistic.
There are multiple formulas available, on this website they say:
“We are using the Mifflin-St. Jeor equations to estimate your BMR which is believed to be more accurate than the more commonly used Harris-Benedict equation.”
I got a fair bit of cooking done today, but not quite as much as planned so I have a few more tasks to do tomorrow. At least there will be enough leftovers after this weekend to avoid having to cook for a few days.
Goodnight all.
A good day. The warmest of the year so far, high 20s, pushing 30 tomorrow. OK that is not Australian warm but it makes us happy. I spent the morning at the aircraft museum. We had a volunteers day – everyone, not just those on duty, with a barbecue. Quite by coincidence the people on the other side of the airfield had organised a flypast by a pair of Spitfires, over which we all went into ecstasy. After that I picked up OH who had been having retail therapy in Cheltenham and we had a second visit to the Wildlife Art exhibition, minus dog who has gone home so I had a better look around. Fruit and veg score up to 29 in six days. Serious barbie cancelling FD tomorrow.
We used to have to walk to school, 15 miles, uphill both ways, in snow. We had to get up every morning, half a hour before we went to bed, and lick road clean wi’ tongue.
Lindsay, I agree completely about the children on iPads in restaurants. As a child, it was such a privilege to be taken to a restaurant. We knew we had to be on our absolute best behaviour because we were doing a ‘grown up’ thing. The whole point was that we were being taught how to behave in such a place. Nowadays, we must ‘endure’ poorly disciplined children racing about while we try to enjoy our meal. So, everyone’s grateful when the iPad comes out. Would much prefer a friendly pooch.
Penguin, one of our boarders, Chico, stayed multiple times and for up to months at a time because his owner travelled extensively. At the end of one lengthy stay, he starting following her outside towards her car until DD said, “Chico, you don’t have to go, you can stay here with us if you like!”. He started back inside. Mum called him again until a game began. He hesitated, glanced at Mum and then trotted back inside. So funny. He now lives in NZ. DD went to visit to him when travelling there. When the owners picked her up, Chico immediately hopped in the back seat to sit with her. Mum not amused on either occasion!
Penguin, my OH would have loved to have seen those spitfires.
Klond, thanks for the road report. It must be tiring for you having to do all that driving and not being able to switch drivers. Rather than just slipping under 70kg, I think you should announce that you are now 69kg! A lot more exciting! Hurray, you’re in the sixties!
Betsy, isn’t LJ maddening taking away all those calories from you! Can’t argue with the numbers lady. It’s a cruel irony that, as we lose weight, we require so much less to eat. Same goes for as we age.
LJ, what did you learn at bridge on Friday?
Anzac, are you behaving yourself this weekend? You had a crappy work week so I hope that didn’t launch you into some weekend stress eating and drinking? No, you are being strong! Remember my elderly neighbour’s comment, “being slim is SO empowering”. It’s true. Throw some acronyms right back at them this week, starting with 5n2. How’s the doggy training gone today?
Cinque, I think the 26C weather must have gone your way as requested. Looks like we have some 17C days this week and maybe, dare we hope, some rain Rosy? I can’t remember the last time it rained.
Who’s fasting with me today? I’m very much looking forward to putting the brakes on today. Too much of the roasted homegrown Japanese yam plus an impromptu pub meal out hasn’t helped although I only ordered a salad. We hadn’t been in a pub for so long, the waitress seemed horrified that we weren’t ordering alcohol, or any sticky drinks, just tap water with our meal. Couldn’t even up sell us to sparkling!
Good morning everyone. I hope you have some nice Sunday plans ahead. I will be cooking for tonight. I still have to make the osso bucco and risotto milanese and I have to make the sauce for the chicken primavera. The floors need to be cleaned too. I was planning to do it last night but had no energy left to face it when I got home.
I’m a bit cross with myself about last night. I managed to get though the early part of the evening having just one piece of cheese from the gorgeous cheese board. Then I retrained myself with small portions of the casseroles as many had very rich sauces. The birthday cake was chocolate – something I don’t really like, so I asked for just a sliver. I ended up with a large slice and mindlessly ate most of it – why? I should have eaten the amount I’d planned (a couple of bites) and then stopped. I can’t change last night, but I do need to remember this next time I’m in a similar situation. As the family group I was with last night are the ones who show affection by feeding people it will certainly happen again.
Neil and Penguin, I think I’ll take Penguins high 20s day, it sounds lovely. I think temperatures in the 20s are just perfect – warm enough to be outside all day without having to head inside to either cool off or warm up. I think I’ve said it before, autumn and spring are my favourite seasons because of the largely mild temperatures. Not a fan of the extremes.
Klondi, have a safe drive to Tamworth, hope you have a nice time there.
Lindsay, when I read your description of the fat kid in class it brought back memories as that was unfortunately me. From grade onward one I was usually the only fat kid in my class. Other kids were not tolerant of anything that made you different.
Lindsay your comment about your bees (going to talk to the girls) had me wondering about the gender of bees in a hive. I had assumed that they would all be male apart from the queen, but apparently not. I hadn’t realised that all worker bees are sterile females. Google tells me that the drones (who don’t leave the hive) are male. So in a bee hive the women go out to work and the men stay home and look after the house!
Well I must get going and get my tasks done, unfortunately I have no army of drone bees to do it for me.
Good afternoon from a cloudy, cool Sydney
Have caught up with everyone but not a lot of time to comment until tomorrow.
Friday…..GAH. I skipped breakfast which I am doing every week day now and had a handful of grapes about 11.00am. All was going well and I was really looking forward to my chicken salad during our scheduled break at 12.30… However the workshop just went on and on and it got to 1.30 when the stress head announced ‘I have a surprise’ and in walked about 10 pizzas. Not on their own of course, attached to beaming humans. A ham and pineapple with capsicum and mushroom (my absolutely favourite) was plonked 1 inch from my hand. Did I resist? Nope. Two large pieces didn’t even touch the sides. Sigh. I had my chicken salad for dinner
Pretty good weekend, just a couple of wines last night and I’ve avoided bread apart from a piece of mountain bread (thanks again LJ) yesterday and today. Lots of lean protein and veges so I’m feeling good. Also two good walks.
Maxx was really good at training this morning thankfully. There were only four in our class this week so there was no hiding! He even received several compliments from the trainer. He was a nightmare last week. He is still jumping up at people though and we are struggling to stop it. The trainers are getting to know him and are helping so hopefully we will have a breakthrough soon
We rugged up this morning but soon stripped down to t-shirts as the sunshine was glorious and there wasn’t any wind. It has clouded over now and cooled down considerably.
Hope everyone has a nice evening, I look forward to a big catch up tomorrow
Thin, was it you who lived in the cardboard box next to ours? I am starting a few hours after you, but also fasting today. Monday/Tuesday are our usual days but we have been getting a little casual lately so we are going to be really serious about it this week.
We don’t see Ipads in our favourite place – there is no mobile signal. There is a sign just inside the door. “Dogs welcome. Children must be on a lead”. Actually they are very good with kids but the ethos seems to rub off onto the kids – usually well behaved, which they are not when we go into town.
Just popping in to account for tonight’s misdeeds.
NFD Fess Up:
Morning: pot of tea
Lunch: small plate of antipasto (spare from the platter I put together for dinner) and a banana
Mid- afternoon: pot of tea
Dinner: 1 piece of brie and 1 of melon wrapped with prosciutto. A tiny bit of the pasta alfredo and the risotto, 1 meatball, a big spoonful osso bucco and a generous amount of beans, carrots, broccoli and cauliflower. Plus 2 small slices of buttered ciabatta.
Dessert started with a piece of ice cream cake with berries and strawberry sauce followed by 3 ricotta filled cannoli with a cuppa.
The wheels really fell off my self control with the cannoli. I’ve had others and never really liked them. These were made today by my nephew’s wife and were dipped in chopped pistachios and had a ricotta filling flavoured with cinnamon and lemon. They were amazing – which is why I couldn’t stop at one.
Similar behaviour as last night with careful choices until dessert arrived.
FD tomorrow thankfully.
Grr, just lost my post. Nearly finished too. And my fault.
Starting again a bit more briefly.
Brain fail on Saturday as I simultaneously prepared for my Sunday fast day, soaking things for soup, and a Sunday lunch with a friend, making cheese and spinach tart. The tart worked out well, thanks LJoyce for the blind baking recipe and tips, they worked! And my fast day was put off til today.
Lovely to hear from you Klondi and congratulations for that 20% gone and getting under 70kg! Woot! Big bunch of flowers! https://smhttp-ssl-61226.nexcesscdn.net/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/527×550/cbcbef48e5e3bcce7c7ed908f20bc5b4/T/e/Teleflora-Celebration-Bowl.jpg
Congratulations to Mr Klondi too. Enjoy that warmer weather!
Lindsay, so glad you and the bees are having nice chats! Do say hi to them from me. And what a way to get the kitchen floor cleaned! Of course, I have done similar myself.
No sign of that 26 degrees Thin, although maybe that is what is keeping us at 12 (top today) instead of 4, like at Neils. Brrrr.
Penguin, High 20’s pushing 30 sounds like optimum Summer temps. Hope it isn’t too hot for you to enjoy it.
Anzac, congrats to Maxx for a great training session. May the breakthrough come soon!
LJoyce, those cannoli sounds heavenly, and well worth eating more than one. What a treat.
I overate yesterday , I think exhausted after my outing. I ate good food, but didn’t stop. SO GLAD of 5:2 today. Isn’t it wonderful.
I slept badly and have been awake hours without getting much done, but I will potter on through the day and appreciate my miso soup and try not to delete this before posting.
5:2 is a life saver. Best wishes fellow travelers.
Good Morning everyone
Yay for Monday FD today. I am making pumpkin soup tonight for my dinner as I didn’t get to make it yesterday. Unexpected visit from OHs Dad and all plans went out the window. Oh well it was nice to catch up with him.
The filo scrolls were ok…. The filling mixture was really yummy when it was cold ( I had to test it several times to check the seasoning, you know) but when I put it into the filo and cooked it, I thought that it was a little dry. I squeezed all the moisture out of the spinach and I also didn’t add any fetta or egg and I think it made all the difference. The taste was nice but next time I will definitely make a couple of changes.
We have a long weekend coming up this weekend and then the next weekend we are off to Cairns. The excitement is really building now and a few nervous flutters have come and gone. I know I will be fine.
Good luck to all the fasters today. All the best to everyone 🙂
Good morning all
Anzac, putting a steaming pizza in front of a hungry on a diet is definitely cruel and unusual punishment. Good to put it behind you and get straight back onto your eating plan.
Cinque I am joining you in fasting today. I have taken a tub of pumpkin-lemon soup out of the freezer for dinner. I had hoped there would be some meatballs with my homemade tomato sauce left that I could have with veg tonight, but they all got eaten last night and there was fight over the last one, so soup it is.
I couldn’t figure out how to use imgr on my phone last night so I’m posting a photo of the auntie cake my great-niece (5) made: https://imgur.com/a/rvE4Th8
Her mum said she drew it first with specific coloured layers and said she wanted to make it for her aunties (actually 2 aunts and 2 great-aunts). Her mum is an excellent baker and cake decorator so she helped her make it. As my niece and I are 2 of those aunts, half a rainbow cake arrived last night for us to share. When my niece and I were diving it up I managed to send most home with her and just keep 2 slices which I put straight into the freezer for another day.
Time for another cup of tea.
Whyyyyyyyy??? I have just been informed that it is one of the girl’s birthdays tomorrow and as she will not be here they are going to have cake for her today! I endured this last Monday for a different girl’s birthday and must I go through the same again today. The cakes don’t usually bother me too much but when it is a FD and I am hungry already, a piece of cake is very tempting. Last week, they bought six tiny little cakes all gluten and dairy free and they looked amazing. If the same ones are bought today I will take a photo and post it up (with a warning for the fasters).
Lol LJ, snap!
Penguin, cardboard box? Luxury! It would have been a palace to us. We lived in a shoebox in middle o’ road. 🙂 I love that sign. There’s a chalkboard sign outside a pub in a suburb near us reading, “Well-behaved children welcome, the rest will be made into pies”.
LJ, I still have trouble with both those bridge concepts. The opening lead can be crucial in bringing the opponents down. I usually get it wrong.
Only had a chance to briefly skim the posts as I, too, had a rotten night, Cinque, and must get ready for bridge. Quacka, those cakes taste horrid! You wouldn’t like them. Be strong! Or if that fails, and it’s a cup cake, just take it home for tomorrow. You can do it!
Good morning, another busy day with all-day workshops so I only have a minute
LJ, you hardly ever go overboard so I hope you aren’t cranky with yourself. Sometimes life just happens and we have to enjoy it. You will reverse any damage in one FD
Penguin, I love the sign about dogs being allowed but kids only tolerated. It sums up how I feel about misbehaving children. I’m 100% with you Thin that having noisy kids running around in a restaurant completely does my head in. My mother was a massive disciplinarian and goodness help me if I ever put a foot wrong.
Having a controlled NFD today and FD tomorrow. I put on a bit on the weekend but it will be gone asap with a very good week
Morning everyone. Beautiful sunny cool day here in Brisbane, after some wonderful much needed overnight rain.
Betsy, I think while BMI is one measure, I’m reading a lot that it’s a pretty imprecise measure because there are so many variables.
Klondi hope you’re enjoying Tamworth and the road trip has been fun and not too tiring. Big congratulations for being in the 60s …. as Cinque says, it’s a much nicer number than the 70s.
Penguin 30 degrees is hot, no matter where you live. I wilt once the temp goes there, but fortunately it’s only for 3 months of the year, and we often head overseas then – ironically, to countries where it is even hotter.
LJ I hope my careless comment about school didn’t cause you any pain … what a champion you are, to turn your life around to where you are now. Such an achievement.
The drones in the hive seem to have a cruisey life, hanging around having non-stop sex….until winter comes and the nectar is not available in the same quantity, and they are pushed out of the hive by the females so they and the queen have enough food. Survival of the fittest.
Quacka and Anzac, pizza and cupcakes? Yikes, your workmates test your resolve.
OK I’ve packed the little girls off to kindy and school. It’s the older one’s birthday – she’s 6 – and her mum bought her a dress uniform….up to know she’s had skorts (for the uninitiated, shorts that look like a skirt). Ridiculous, that they just don’t allow little girls (or big ones) to just wear shorts. Anyway, Miss 6 had ironically always wanted the dress and she was so excited as she headed off, with the two dozen cupcakes, iced red and green, with sprinkles. Long time since I’ve made a cupcake. Miss 3 tried one and pronounced them a success (but anything with butter and sugar is a success as far as she’s concerned).
LJ, thanks for the reminder about TDEE versus BMR as I had forgotten to measure activity (or lack thereof). My BMR without activity is much much lower of course so that is another reason why I am struggling to lose. Your Sunday dinner sounded divine and you are obviously a very accomplished cook. We had a barbie with chicken that spent the day marinating in a thai spice rub, two tiny pieces of beef eye fillet and a big salad. OH also had sausages and octopus. I had some coconut and caramelised onion fried rice in the freezer that came out and I did have a couple of spoonsful which went against my no-starchy-carbs rule. The ‘Aunty Cake’ was so wonderful and colourful! But my teeth ached at the thought of how much sugar must be in it Well done for offloading most of it
Lindsay, you granddaughter must have looked as cute as a button in her new dress uniform. So glad your cupcakes are and will be a success.
Klondie, HUGE MASSIVE CONGRATS on getting into the 60’s! Whoo Hoo! I hope the driving doesn’t tire you too much, it must be hard to not be able to share it. But I guess you are used to it. I hate hate hate driving these days and rarely do it. The furthest I will go is my hairdressers or Dad’s place, both about 15-20 minutes away
Quacka, good luck resisting cake today. We both seem to face temptation way too often at work. I am so looking forward to the long weekend next weekend and I hope the weather is nice for us. Your trip is so close you can almost taste it
Cinque, sorry about losing your post; it really is SO annoying as you can never quite recreate the creativity and content. Sorry also that you didn’t sleep well – me either (see next para). I laughed at your advice to spit at the scales; I’d like to both spit at them AND kick them most of the time.
Maxx woke me up at 1.10am and at first just seemed to want to sleep on the floor by the bed. I got up to go to the loo and he started crying at the top of the stairs (OH was sleeping down there) so I had no clue what was up. I opened the back door just in case and he bolted out so I don’t know why he didn’t stand in front of the back door like he normally does when he wants to go out. Maybe he was still half asleep (as was I). He toddled back to bed then but of course I couldn’t get back to sleep for ages.
Well, we need rain badly and it is coming tomorrow. According to BOM we will get between 30 and 50mm! The garden and the dams will be happy if that happens. Hopefully there won’t be any flash flooding. There’s nothing boring about living in this wide brown land of ours is there? I love that poem by Dorothea Mackellar and the words ‘of drought and flooding rain’ is very apt so often.
I decided to have breakfast this morning as I knew our lunch break isn’t going to be until 2.00pm. I had a piece of mountain bread with a slice of ham and put it in the sandwich maker to crisp it up. I also had a mandarin. I will enjoy my thai chicken leftover salad for lunch and we are having venison and salad with Dad tonight. The boys will have some thyme and parmesan potato stacks but I will leave those
Gosh Thin, you did have a hard upbringing. 15 miles to school each way and uphill both ways? In Snow? That kinda defies physics (chuckle chuckle). And licking the road clean – cruel I say! Cruel!
How is the weather going over there Cali? We are cooling down quickly and hubby and I are starting to wonder why we booked our trip in the middle of a European winter. It all sounded romantic and novel during our summer but now we are questioning it. Well, not really as we don’t have a choice. I can only get that length of time off during the project slow-down period around Christmas PLUS we hate crowds more than we hate the cold so it works for us. We have our gorgeous week in the Seychelles at the end to look forward to as well.
Have a great rest of the day all
My night flowering cactus is flowering – and it’s day time! I wonder if the rain fooled it? It hangs in a large basket under the mango tree .. it’s thrived there, and the blooms are the size of a dinner plate. Beautiful to look out the kitchen window and see it
https://imgur.com/a/VcMhuOQ
Anzac Miss 6 absolutely looked gorgeous. But I’ll have a rant now. I don’t know why the school encourages or even allows kids to bring cake to school on their birthdays. Pressure for parents, not good food choices for kids. And the skorts thing drives me insane. Fact: girls don’t climb trees in skirts. But why inflict another piece of girly clothing on little children to reinforce ‘modesty’ ? The skort is part of the uniform … knee length, like a culotte I guess. But why not just shorts? Why tell little girls they need special clothes? And yes, I acknowledge some girls like dresses (eg Miss 3 has gone to kindy in a net skirt over her jeans) and that’s fine. But why not shorts and trousers for all school kids, boy or girl, if that’s what they want to wear? (Rant over – I feel better now).
Fasters beware. This is what I am currently avoiding https://i.imgur.com/Ifw2Km2.jpg
Sign at the village Post Office/shop “Unattended children will be sold to the Circus”.
The Met Office got it wrong, at least partly. Some of the country had 30C. We went down to 16 C and it rained most of the day. It is better today -sun shining and going to be warmer again. Over the last few years I have been teaching myself about flowers, before that I was strictly a veg gardener. Today I will be planting out Bishop of Llandarf , Cosmos and Lupins. I grew the Bishop last year, lovely tall bright red thing but they have to be dug up and the tubers dried over the winter or they won’t survive here. My Roses are doing well.
Strict FD yesterday. Not zero cal but very low. Weight is down this morning. Doing it again today.
Klondi, congrats on getting bellow 70kg! That’s a big milestone, as is losing 20% of your beginning weight. A great way to begin your trip.
Lindsay, I’m 165cm and consider that an average height. I lost a little over 2cm over the years. Clothing lengths seem to be about average at this height.
Thin, 15 miles uphill both ways to school? It must have been a heck of a job for your parents to move that cardboard box 15 miles further up the hill each day…in the snow? 😁
LJ, kids aren’t the only ones spending too much time on their tablets or phones. I see so many parents walking with their kids or sitting in restaurants with them, on the phone or texting the whole time. Screen time has become a serious addiction for many. (Including me on a lot of days.) your Italian menu sounds wonderful. I love your idea of different themes for your dinners. I bet everyone went home with leftovers again. I love the layered cake with all the different colors that your niece made.
Penguin, we had temps close to 30 on Sat and around 25 on Sunday. I think summer has finally arrived in Northern Cal. I went from jumpers with shirts underneath one day to t-shirts the next. It was the coolest and rainiest May that I can remember around here.
Cinque, I’ve been having a few nights of restless sleeping the last several days too, after a week or two of sleeping well. I don’t know if it’s eating too much on NFD’s or thinking too much, but I certainly feel better on the days after a goodnight’s sleep.
FD’s Monday and Thursday as usual for me. I’m still not doing a very good job of not gaining back what I’ve lost on NFD. This will be a better week.
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7:50 am
30 May 19