Hello Southern Hemispherites!!

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Klondikekween

6:28 am
13 Jul 19
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Hi all

Cinque. I will definitely catch up with you when I get back but the plan is for early September so hopefully the weather will be much nicer. Bad luck about the mushrooms, I’m sure you will find a way to make them palatable.

Calif. ‘spent a few hours setting up a streaming device ‘ Were you glossing over one of those frustrating experiences which modern tech subjects us to? The BeyondMeat products sound very interesting and I will see if they have them here. I have used TVP (textured vegetable protein) which is a soy product and as a mince substitute it works very well. Singing to your birds sounds like a lovely thing to do, do you leave a radio on to keep them company?

Betsy. We are nearly twins, perhaps we can have a real joint celebration with Cinque when the time comes since we are all Melbournians. Sounds like a practical solution having a nebuliser, as a preventer and a treatment. Don’t know much about asthma fortunately but those side effects of cortisone don’t sound good.Did you make it to the end of the tennis, looks like it was a good match. Don’t worry about the late morning, your can sleep all day if you want.

Penguin. Thanks for the update, yes work does just get in the way of life. Well done Mrs P, does that age difference make her a ‘cradle snatcher’?

Thin. Looks like you are really cutting everything loose. I’m glad that the actual sale has been such a satisfying and civilised affair for you. Yes, I am expert at taking instructions from OH who has the hard task of working out the correct way to turn the wheel to get the van into the right place. He does a fabulous job. You are way below your old goal weight, sounds like you need to relax your eating rules a bit so that you are at a healthy level when you start your new life, ‘gaunt’ does sound a bit too far.

LJ. You questioned the sugar free kombucha and I bought a bottle that said it had natural stevia in it but did not include any sugar. Is this right, can you still make kombucha without actual sugar? It was very tart and tasted like a really sour apple cider. Also, I remember you have often written about using your air fryer and I see Aldi has one for $70. I’m really interested in what you find good about it and what variety of food you can cook in it. If anyone else who has experience with one, I would love to hear from you. How did big people’s bridge go. Do you keep the same partner or will you play with a different person every time? Bobby probably has terrier in him, he is a mystery mix but we think a Pomeranian gave him his wavy tail.

Did a Parkrun this morning at 7am. Sun had just risen and it was a beautiful morning. PB by 30 seconds, not much but it’s like losing 100g, a better result is a better result. We had our reward breakfast afterwards and then watched a whale and a calf playing in the sea not far out. Sitting typing this and a bush turkey wandered by, fortunately not spotted by Bobby, who was on his lead asleep outside the van. They are his favourite bird to chase. Bought my first size 10 yesterday, it’s funny but when I was 60-63k in my twenties I wore size 12. Obviously the manufacturers are playing with us.

LJoyce

3:54 pm
13 Jul 19
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Klondi,
I love my airfryer – I find it so very useful because mine can cook things that I would normally bake, roast, fry, grill or bbq. You are not actually “frying” food because you add little or no oil – it’s basically a strongly fan-forced convection oven and uses hot air that’s forced around the food to cook it evenly and quickly. The thing that it is most similar to in what it can cook, is perhaps the more modern toaster ovens, although they are slower. Although it’s called a fryer the food doesn’t have the same mouth feel as deep fried food, because it doesn’t contain the fat – although it will still get crispy and crunchy.

Airfryers come in very different designs so I can only comment on the design that I know. I’m onto my second Phillips one. (I dropped the first one and although it continued to work with a cracked front, I upgraded to a much larger size when it was on sale.) Basically if it fits into the basket and it’s something you would bake, grill, fry etc then the airfryer will cook it. It cooks much more quickly than an oven usually does. The capacity of the basket makes a big difference to what can be easily cooked in it. I can roast a whole chicken in the one I have now, but I would have had to cut it into pieces to fit it into the small airfryer I had before. These videos will give you an idea of the design of the airfryer and the different ways you can use it (you don’t have to watch them all!):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecue8QkcKVk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YAjDmXVYFvk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DosjRtIxuEg
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w7XEUIDpbPI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Djmgqrl_stM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpCoL9Is_Mc
(I really like the VahChef videos, Sanjay is so enthusiastic)

This recipe page also shows the variety of things you can cook in it: https://www.philips.com.au/c-m-ho/airfryer/recipes
There are some airfyers on the market that have a very different design which changes what they can cook. My comments apply to all of those that have the removable basket design (looks a bit like a deep-fryer basket).

Because of the design, it cooks all sides of the food at the same time, so things in the bottom of the basket brown and crisp without needing to be moved to the top. So I can roast meat and it will brown on all sides without being turned. I can do an open toasted sandwich and the bread will toast on the bottom at the same time as the cheese is melting on top. For some foods I will open the airfryer once or twice during cooking and give the basket a shake, where there might be small items trapped in the centre – eg if I’ve put an entire kilo of frozen chips into the basket, a couple of shakes of the basket will redistribute them.

To give you an idea of the range of things I cook in mine: chips (frozen or fresh), roast chicken, roast lamb (1/2 leg), roast veg, stuffed veg (eg eggplant, capsicum etc), anything crumbed (prawns, chicken, fish etc), steak, lamb chops, sausages, meatballs, rissoles, tandoori chicken pieces, small pizza (with a small pita bread as a base), toasted sandwiches (open or closed), anything contained in pastry, casseroles/bakes such as shepherds pie, bread rolls, scones. You can also do “wet” things like eggs and casseroles as long as you put them in an oven safe dish and then put the dish in the basket. As to added fats, the general rule is that if the food already contains fat (eg meat, pastry, crumbed frozen foods etc) then you don’t add any more fat. If the food contains little or no fat (eg skinless chicken breasts, vegetables etc), then you add up to one tablespoon of oil to coat the food. For veg I dry them with with paper towel, then put them in a bowl and toss them with herbs/spices and a little olive oil before airfying – this works for both winter roast root veg and also summer veg such as eggplant, capsicum, asparagus etc. Any fat that you add, or fats contained in the food will help cook/brown it, but most of the fat will end up dripping through the basket to the bottom container once the food is cooked – so you don’t eat it. It does make it a low fat way to cook especially for things that would normally be shallow or deep fried or roasted. For meat it actually removes fat during cooking. I’m always a little shocked at how much fat is in the bottom container once I’ve cooked roast lamb – despite trimming most of the visible fat off before I cook it.

Things that I would normally bake/roast in the oven take about half the time in the airfryer and there is no preheating time required – however the capacity of the airfryer is considerably smaller so its usefulness depends on how many you are cooking for. Things that go directly into the basket are relatively easy, but some things that are “wet” (frittata, casseroles, oven bakes, shepherds pie, cakes, bread etc) need to go into an oven safe container which is then placed into the basket of the airfryer. I have the XXL airfyer now and finding containers to fit is relatively easy – it was much trickier when I had the smallest model.
I think one of the reasons that I find it useful is because I’m often cooking for one and I can fit a complete meal in the airfyer without using my large oven or dirtying several pans. I also usually make things in 1-2 serve portions so that I can freeze them and bake them in the airfyer as needed. I also use it for defrosting things (on 80C) and also reheating things that I want to be crisp when I eat them (eg leftover roast veg).
It’s also useful when you are feeding a crowd – when I have family dinners I usually do something like frozen chips to keep the teenagers quiet while I’m getting dinner ready. (My current airfyer easily holds a 1kg bag or more, but the small one I had previously held 750g.)

If you have a really good toaster oven already, then you may find that an airfryer doesn’t allow you to cook many more things than you can now. I think the difference, is that some foods when oven baked are not as good as when they are airfried (especially things like frozen chips and crumbed foods), I find they are crisper and don’t dry out as much in the airfryer. That might be because they take half the time to cook so there is less time for them to become dry.

I hope this helps.

Cinque

11:39 pm
13 Jul 19
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Good morning everyone from cold Melbourne, Sunday morning, but at least it is getting light earlier.

Neil, I often come away from the optometrist with dilated pupils, it is weird! A migraine does make sense. Have you had them before (with different symptoms obviiously)? Hoping you avoid another one, but if not you may recognise it at the beginning, take something and lie down. That way it might not develop into a full blown migraine. (My trick).
So lovely to hear of you reveling in your fitness. A wonderful thing for you, your family, and your community.

LJoyce, you are so good at giving a comprehensive review!
I hope your cooking day went well. Mine was okay. I made 4 savoury tarts lined with a mix of carrot, parsnip, turnip and pumpkin, and filled with broccoli, spring onion, parsley and a ricotta, feta mix with egg. I need to do them more often though to get quicker and better at them. Delicious though!

Klondi, what a lovely idea to have us Melbournites together celebrating your birthdays.
Your run, and then sitting watching bush turkeys go by, chatting on your ipad… what an idyll!
Congratulations on that size 10!

Today feels a bit busy for me, but I’m going to get a salad ready for lunch, then some Wizard 101 with Miss 4, and then the family meal starring home made potato cakes. Then rest!

Best wishes to everyone!

thinatlast

12:43 am
14 Jul 19
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Cinque, LJ and Klond, thank you so much for your advice. Read it all twice. I had managed the conclusion that, to continue with a weekly FD, I would need to eat more on the NFDs but couldn’t seem to work out how without including a restaurant meal which I neither have time or inclination for right now. So thank you for your sensible ideas you wise old owls. I’m approaching five years on this fasty WOL and determined not to let ANYTHING get in the way of it.

So far in our chaos, our meal regime has remained as it always was (i.e. me cooking real food/no takeaways). It’s becoming trickier as more and more kitchen items get sold or packed. The neighbours kindly said I could borrow anything needed though.

Klond, great job reaching size 10. Six more weeks to go still! Free as a bird. One not noticed by Bobby anyway. LJ, what a review on the airfryer! My neighbour has one. She’s also been showing me her new thermos cooker. Have any of you tried that? Cinque have a wonderful day with family.

Klondikekween

8:53 am
14 Jul 19
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LJ. Thank you so much for such a detailed review. It certainly sounds like a really useful item. My dilemma is that I don’t have a lot of space in the van to store it and not a lot of bench area when I do want to use it. The small one would probably be fine for our purposes and since I don’t have an oven, it certainly would increase my options. I haven’t looked into the Aldi one in any detail and it might not be the right one. If I do decide to get one now and it isn’t suitable for the van at least I’m sure I would use it at home. The links you provided were very informative, especially the comparison one, I didn’t realise how useful a convection oven was but that certainly wouldn’t work in the van. The ones with Sanjay were entertaining although I couldn’t imagine using all that rice in the biryanis.

LJoyce

10:26 am
14 Jul 19
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Klondi, you are welcome. I know that space is at a premium in a van, which can make it difficult, although the smaller models would probably fit. When you are using it, it doesn’t have to sit on the kitchen bench, you could sit it on a table as long as you can still access a power point. I found this site which provides the dimensions of various brands/models and might make it easier to decide which options would fit in your van: https://www.finder.com.au/air-fryers (the 3 numbers listed are width x depth x height and the depth includes the handle)
Just be mindful of the differences in design as it can affect the space required. Most have a basket that slides, but some have a lid that lifts up so they need head room, not just bench space.
If your van has no oven then it would greatly increase the range of food you could prepare. The smallest models are suitable for 2 people. It’s probably worth going and having a look – perhaps look at the various models in the electrical store and then compare them to the Aldi one. The Aldi model is exceptionally cheap. I’ve always bought the Phillips models (as they usually top the ratings lists), but I’ve bought those with with manual dials rather than digital – because they are considerably cheaper – their smallest model is around $170.
Every year there are online comparisons done on those models available in Australia: https://simplerandsmarter.com.au/best-air-fryer-reviews/ However I think the most useful site (before purchasing any electrical item) is this site: https://www.productreview.com.au/c/air-fryers I like this site because you don’t just get feedback on the performance, you also find out what the after sales service is like when things go wrong. (This site does include a review of the Aldi airfryer.)

Neil, I just wanted express my congratulations for NZ making it to the cricket one-day final – best of luck for the final against England.

PerthGirl

1:37 pm
14 Jul 19
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Hi Thin, I had a similar problem when I dropped to one and half kilos under my optimal weight. I still wanted to continue with 5:2 fasting – and OMAD on my fast days – for health benefits rather than weight control. What worked for me was adjustments on both FD and NFD. I added some high quality, low GI wholegrains and legumes to my main meals but in small, controlled portions.

For example, on FD I added 2 tablespoons of cooked grains such as pearl barley or freekah to my meal. If I was making home made soup, I added half a cup of red lentils to a four portion batch. On NFD I added the cooked grains, or some beans or chick peas, to main meals. Easy with casseroles, stews and braises on these cool days. For steamed veges or salad, I sprinkle the grains on the plate before anything else, then they get scooped up with whatever veges go on top. Other things – when cutting grainy loaves, I cut the slices a little thicker sometimes; if using commercial bread, I occasionally use two slices on one side rather than one. Once a week as a treat, I replace my black coffee with a HiLo flat white. For me, I found that one to two tablespoons added to three or four main meals a week was sufficient to keep my weight at optimum level, and because I am not adding much it is easy to adjust and I am not sabotaging my fasting efforts with additional meals or large portions. The results do not happen over night, I give it a week or so to check if it is having the desired effect. To make this easy, I keep “4 tablespoon batches” of a variety of grains and beans in the freezer. At the moment, I am using this approach to keep our weight steady as we are walking for about 2 hours every day with a full backpack, in preparation for a Camino walk in Portugal later this year. With your time at a premium, you could look at the range of ’90 second microwave’ sachets of precooked wholegrain rices and ancient gains in Coles/Woolies. When we are camping we simply empty these into a saucepan, add 2 tablespoons of water and heat gently for a couple of minutes.

Re air fryers – I would not be without mine. I have the small Philips which is large enough for the two of us (we never have anyone to eat with us) and I purchased the rack (with skewers) to double the ‘frying’ area, and the baking pan. I find it especially useful for vegetable fritters/patties as mine will cook before they can fall apart (as they often used to when I dry fried them). But, as KlondikeQueen noted, they do take up quite a bit of bench space and I don’t think we could have used one in our caravan, but I could imagine it outside on a table under the awing.

Regards to all.

thinatlast

10:36 pm
14 Jul 19
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Hi PerthGirl, wonderful to hear from you after all this time! Last seen heading off for a cycle trip to Europe two years ago I think. Thank you for the great tips. By the way, your kefir grains are going very well, thank you!

I completed my lonely FD yesterday and, although I wasn’t hungry, I ate a banana and some frozen blueberries with a spoonful of cottage cheese after dinner. I’m the same weight today. For this week’s NFDs I’ll begin adding the small amounts you’ve suggested along with LJs ideas. You are both very clever to suggest foods that shouldn’t rock my boat long-term.

What a strange problem, and one I never thought would apply to me. I sense those around me feel my desire to continue fasting in light of this weight loss is some kind of eating disorder in itself. I am so very grateful that you understand me. Thank you!

PG, are you still fasting twice a week as described above? Which month will you be heading off to Portugal?

Cinque, LJ, I’m handing the fasting baton over to you.

Neilithicman

10:43 pm
14 Jul 19
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Cricket final….gutted…no more words…need caffeine now.

LJoyce

12:54 am
15 Jul 19
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Good morning all.

Neil, commiserations- that really should have been a draw.

Thin, glad you have found a solution that you are happy with. I agree about the good grains. I know you specifically cut them out a while back, but you may find that you only need to keep excluding them in those weeks where you have meals out.

I’m just about to head off for babysitting duties. I’m doing a FD which I know will be difficult with the kids.

Quacka

1:13 am
15 Jul 19
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Good Morning everyone

It’s Monday FD and well, I’m just going to be honest about it. I really don’t feel like doing it. I especially hate how I always feel so cold on FDs despite drinking tea and herbal teas. Weight this morning was 67.5kg so I really need it though. I know that weight fluctuates a lot and my skinny jeans are still fitting but I want to see those numbers back into the 65s. The plan for the week is Monday and Wednesday FDs and CDs Tuesday and Thursday of about 800 calories. Veggies here we come.

The duck was really yummy as always. Penz, I bought it at Woolworths. Actually I bought two and kept one frozen for another time. I spent a lot of time looking up recipes and then felt totally confused so in the end I just used a couple of tablespoons of bottled Char Siu sauce which I coated the duck in and then roasted it on a rack. I made a veggie stir fry to go with it using a little more of the sauce mixed with water so that it all tied together. It was nice for a change.

I bought two bags of Brussel Sprouts when I was shopping last week as I wanted to make a bacon and Brussels salad that has a balsamic dressing on it. A friend made some for us girls at work a couple of years ago and I really liked it which surprised me as I usually don’t like Brussel sprouts. These ones were really nice young ones and quite small in size so I used some of them in the stirfry. Yesterday I cut up the rest of that bag and stir fried them up with onion and garlic and a little butter. They were divine. I have found a new favourite!

Well I better go and do some work. Bad luck about the cricket Neil.

Hope you all have a lovely day. I’m looking forward to pea and ham soup for dinner……if I make it through.

PerthGirl

1:18 am
15 Jul 19
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Yes, two years ago and then we did another cycling trip in the Netherlands last year. We are still fasting two days a week (Monday and Friday) except when we are away overseas – which was 21 weeks in the last twelve months! When we are away we try to self-cater – when we are not eating sensibly on cruises – enjoying the local cuisine in a moderate, Mediterranean way. After three years of this way of eating we know that returning to our 5:2 lifestyle when we return from a trip, avoiding energy-dense grains/legumes for a week or two, will bring us back to our optimal weights with our BMI around 20 (mine) and 19 (PerthBoy). We have always referred to 5:2 as a ‘lifestyle’ choice rather than a ‘diet’ when talking about it to our nearest and dearest so they would not consider our continuing with it as an eating disorder.

We head to Porto, Portugal in mid-September (and I am sooo looking forward to that first custard tart) and hope to walk for about a month – if all my elderly, moving body parts cooperate 🙂

BTW, mother kefir grains are still going strong as well, despite being thrown into the freezer for a holiday fairly often.

Thin, does your immediate, ‘bucket-list’ future, after moving out, involve water?

PG

Cinque

3:22 am
15 Jul 19
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Slow, crook morning here. No. Afternoon.
Just sending out a quick hi to everyone. Hi Perthgirl especially.
Quacka, yum yum Brussels sprouts. So good when they are young and cooked well.
I’ve yet to eat duck. Must look out for it.
Thin, lovely sensible adjustment. All power to you.

Quacka

4:50 am
15 Jul 19
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Hope you are ok Cinque x

Xatie

6:37 am
15 Jul 19
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Hi everyone, hope you all have a successful day today. I’m going to try and make it through day one fasting, I keep failing but I feel positive. Fasted for 3 months with a 2 hour window and really enjoyed that. Desperate to get that feeling back.

Quacka

7:40 am
15 Jul 19
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Good luck Xatie, you can do this!
It’s been a long FD for me so far but it’s almost 5pm and so I can go home and have dinner. Looking forward to a nice hot soup.

Anzac65

8:04 am
15 Jul 19
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Hi friends

Welcome Xatie, this forum will help you so much. So very supportive and full of wise owls who have been successful but stay around for those of us with lots to lose and/or struggling

Quacka sorry you had a difficult fast day but congrats getting through it. Mine will be hard tomorrow as I lost my resolve on the weekend. Enough said on that

So sorry you aren’t well today Cinque, please take care

I have read your lovely posts but no time for more replies right now. I need to read them to keep me both sane with this job and on track with 5:2

Have a lovely evening

Neilithicman

8:18 am
15 Jul 19
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Hi all, I’m feeling a bit better after napping for a few hours after work. With the cricket final and the Wimbledon final on at the same time I was working all day today on about 2 hours sleep. Needless to say, I was living on caffeine and adrenaline. I still managed to muster the energy to get to the gym at lunchtime. Hopefully with an early night tonight I’ll be feeling a little more human tomorrow.

I hope everyone had a great day and that all those fasting today managed to get through the day unscathed.

p.s. I was gutted at the tennis result too, I was cheering for Federer and he came so close after serving with 2 championship points halfway through the last set.

LJoyce

11:16 am
15 Jul 19
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Good evening everyone

A bit tired tonight after babysitting on FD calories.

Cinque, get well soon. So glad you at least have warm house now.

Neil, sleep well. The sports being played in England certainly provided some nail biting finishes overnight. I did not stay up for them, so I’m all admiration for someone who managed it.

PerthGirl, I’m wistfully imagining what it would be like to do that amount of travel. Funny how many of us think “custard tarts” as soon as Portugal is mentioned!

Xatie, I hope you have had a successful FD. Sometimes it can be challenging. Just remember that it’s only one day; there is nothing wrong with being hungry temporarily; whatever it is you are desperate to eat on a FD you can have it tomorrow if you still want to.

I need an early night as I’m babysitting again tomorrow.
I’ve promised the kids we can walk to the bakery for lunch – that means pies/pasties etc which will do my waistline no favours. Might need to walk the long way home!

CalifDreamer

10:36 pm
15 Jul 19
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I was just finishing up a nice long post and then lost it for a stupid reason on my part: I let the battery run out on my iPad and it all went poof! So I will have to catch up with posting later. I’m enjoying my Monday FD today.

Anzac65

11:08 pm
15 Jul 19
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Good morning

Gah Cali, sorry to hear about your post. It is just so frustrating isn’t it? I’m doing my Tuesday FD so we have a short window of crossover 🙂

I hope you managed an early night and some good sleep LJ. I can imagine that babysitting would be very tiring indeed as you need to keep them entertained. Good luck at the bakery today, that would be beyond tempting for me too

I hope you managed to catch up on some sleep too Neil

I need todays FD as a few hundred grams crept on during the weekend and next weekend we have a big lunch for hubby and another friends (belated) birthdays

Must get to work so good luck to the fasters and stay in control all

Quacka

12:05 am
16 Jul 19
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Good Morning everyone

Well, I made it through the FD yesterday but I’m not so sure that pea and ham soup qualifies as a FD meal. I made the soup on Sunday so it was in the fridge overnight which allowed the fat to rise to the surface. I skimmed it all off but was really surprised how little there was. I only had a very small portion of the ham and a small bowl and a half of the soup. I’m not sure if it’s the carbs in it (potato and probably the split peas contain carbs) but weight is only down 200g today which is unusual as it’s usually more than that after a FD. Anyway, it’s done now. I have some more of my soup for lunch today and I have frozen the remainder. Tomorrow will be a definite under 500 calorie FD.

Anzac, I understand about losing your resolve. I feel like that sometimes too, like yesterday. Today I am much more positive again so I really think we have to fight for this psychologically. I know it’s hard when there are other things going in our lives, like work stress and friends stress, but we need to do this for ourselves. We are important too!

There’s a saying I have seen on one of the other threads on this forum but I can’t remember exactly how it goes. I’ll go have a look for it and try and post it up later.

Take care all x

Quacka

12:11 am
16 Jul 19
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“If I quit now I will soon be back to where I started. And when I started, I was desperately wishing to be where I am now”

I’m going to go and make this the front page of my phone. I was going to write it up and stick it on my computer too. Do you think people will think I am weird? Lol

Cinque

12:15 am
16 Jul 19
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Good morning everyone,
I remembered last night that Sunday was the anniversary of my first fast day. Four years, and maintaining for more than two and a half years.

Hi Xatie, how did your first fast day go? Are you enjoying the wonderful morning-after-fast-day feeling now?

Thanks Quacka I am much better today.
I bet you enjoyed that soup last night. Lots of hot cuppas and mugs of soup are my best tip when feeling cold… well having a deep hot bath is best, but not very practical on a work day. The other tip is to avoid getting cold by dressing warmly before you feel cold. Do the Melbourne thing: 🙂 layers, scarves, leggings, beanie, fingerless gloves.
I’m doing all that in spades at the moment, even with the heater working.

Anzac, sending good wishes to get you through another mad day, and a fast day. Keep centred!

Neil I hope you got an excellent sleep last night and are bright eyed and bushy tailed this morning.

I hope you have a lovely day with the kids, LJoyce, and an excellent long walk home.

Cali, Oh no! So sorry that post died with the battery, I wanted to read it! Sending good wishes.

Thin, your baton is tucked in my pocket, fast day tomorrow.

Cheers everyone. 5:2 is a lovely way of looking after ourselves.

Anzac65

12:18 am
16 Jul 19
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What an awesome and inspiring saying Quacka. I am going to put it on my computer too, but in letters small enough for me to read when I am close to it but not big enough for someone to read over my shoulder or from a distance. And if they do, and if they think we are weird then too bad!

So glad you are feeling better today Cinque. I saw on the news that Victoria woke up to it’s coldest morning this year. Stay warm!

Cinque

12:27 am
16 Jul 19
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Great quote Quacka!

CalifDreamer

6:48 am
16 Jul 19
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Well, my Monday FD is almost over. It was an easy one as FD’s go. But I’ve got about 3kg that I want to lose and I seem to gain back whatever I lose on FD’s on my not very well controlled NFD’s. Overeating gets to be a habit. I think I may do 800 or 1000 calorie days on Tues and Wed this week, then my regular Thurs FD. I need to break this overeating cycle.

Cinque, congrats on passing your 4 year 5:2 anniversary. And so glad to hear you are feeling better today.

LJ, thank you for posting that great review of the different air fryers. I had no idea you could pack so many different things at one time into the larger ones and have them all cook relatively evenly. That would be such a time saver. The only drawback seems to be the size. Those things are huge.

Our moderate temperatures are warming up. The past couple of days have been in the 33-35C range. Still, anything below 35 isn’t too bad. We normally have days in the high 30’s or low 40’s this time of year. Hot and dry.

Quacka, I’ve always liked that saying, “If I quit now I will soon be back to where I started. And when I started, I was desperately wishing to be where I am now” too. It’s so true. Pea soup isn’t too bad caloriewise if you don’t add too much ham and the ham is lean. It’s great for fiber and keeping you feeling full. I often skip the ham and just add a little smoke flavoring and some sliced carrots. Another thing I sometimes add is those soy bacon bits. They add a lot of that ham flavor.

Thin, glad to hear you have some flexibility with your moving out date. Having extra time is always a good thing, although it never seems like enough. You mentioned the other day that your face is starting to look gaunt. I think that’s often the case when you lose weight, but things resettle after a while and that may well go away. And once you’re out of the house and eating more normally you’ll probably gain back some of the weight you didn’t really want to lose.

Anzac, sorry to hear your job is still crazy. I hope it settles down soon. How’s Maxx going?

Klondi, your travels sound so relaxing. Glad to hear you’re hitting mostly good weather. Being in different places and seeing new things is always nice.

Neil, so sorry to hear about the cricket finals, especially after staying awake most of the night to watch them. Still, it’s nice to have something like that which is so entertaining.

Satie, welcome to 5:2. It’s a great way to lose weight and it’s easy to live with. How did your first day go? It does get easier over time.

PerthGirl

8:23 am
16 Jul 19
Permalink

LJ, I could dampen your wistful imagination a little. Imagine … you are woken out of a deep sleep at 2am by a need to ‘wee’. You are in minimal nightclothes, inside a sleep sheet, inside a ‘mummy’ shaped sleeping bag, in an ultralight tent that is just wide enough to fit two people and just tall enough to sit up … and you have left your headlight out on your bike … and the amenities block is 200 meters away, over uncut grass … and it is pelting with rain! Budget travel does have its downsides, but enough time eventually passes that you can laugh about the ‘downs’.

Seriously, we have often joked over the last 25 years that one of the reasons we can travel is due to the quantities of ‘rice and lentils’ we have eaten, at home, in order to top up our piggy banks. Our ingrained habits of home cooking using wholesome, bulk-purchased dry-goods, and in-season vegetables and fruit have proved to be the mainstay of our 5:2 efforts. We simply needed better portion control to balance the lower TDEEs that come with increasing age. The TDEE was a real eye-opener for me!

These days I find that most recipes that say ‘Serves four’ actually serve 6 septuagenarians if we are to stay within our TDEE. Although we buy very little packaged food, I often do a ‘label trawl’ when we are shopping and am surprised at what constitutes a ‘serve’.

Similarly with cake and dessert recipes. In fact I challenge anyone to carve a cake – cooked in an 18cm cake-tin – into 24 pieces, as was suggested in a recipe in a recent magazine – and each one of those 24 pieces would contain 2968 kJ!

Those of you who are fasting today, stay strong.

PG

“Eat food, mainly plants, just enough” Michael Pollan

LJoyce

10:11 am
16 Jul 19
Permalink

Good evening, another tiring day of babysitting.

After assuming I’d have to have something like a pasty for lunch, I happily found the bakery also had some rolls filled with lots of salad and fresh chicken. So while the kids had their sausage rolls and sauce I had the chicken salad roll. It would have been fine if I’d stopped there. But the kids wanted a donut for dessert and I weakened had a lemon curd tart. Then when my nephew’s wife arrived home from work she had bought home 2 bakers delight blueberry scones for us to have with a cuppa. So I had that too! Oh dear – it was NFD – but with emphasis on the “non”.

I did at least fit in 2 walks – one with the kids to get to the bakery for lunch and another when I got home.

Cinque, happy FD anniversary.

PerthGirl, you are right the idea on a tent does take the shine off of the romance of travelling – I am well past the age of that being fun. My idea of roughing it is 3 stars!
I do like your Michael Pollan quote – Cinque reminds us of that to occasionally. I think you might enjoy some of the info on https://www.facebook.com/thesavvydietitian/ lots of good info on healthy (mostly plant) sources of various nutrients.

Quacka, it seems to be the day for good quotes that help keep us on the right path.

Cali, glad to hear your weather is still being kind.

Cali & Klondi, I’ve taken a photo of my airfryer on it’s section of bench so you can see the space it takes. https://imgur.com/a/ELqdPTw This is the XXL Phillips, the small model take a lot less space. I have the luxury of an island bench in this kitchen so I can leave appliances on the other areas of benchtop and still have adequate prep space. I never put the airfyer in a cupboard – the last time I did that with the smaller model I dropped it on the floor and broke the front panel.

Some really useful charts that I think I’ve posted before but worth posting again. There’s a helpful reminder of the different categories of fibre, prebiotics/probiotics and carbs as they should be: https://imgur.com/a/HbWTIJK (The first two images are from the facebook and instagram page of the Savvy Dietitian and the 3rd is from the instagram page of “Jacked on Plants”)

One more busy day tomorrow then thankfully some quieter ones.

thinatlast

10:15 am
16 Jul 19
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“Eat food, mainly plants, just enough” – love that one. Enjoyed your latest posts PG and, although I haven’t been able to read everything in recent weeks, I do hope you stay with us. Hilarious account of your budget travel night in a tent. Our trip to Porto was my first time overseas after embarking on 5:2 and reaching goal weight. I was worried but it was all OK. One or two pastel de natas and many more hills … we certainly require less food as we age and, sadly, as we achieve our goal weight. Yes, our adventure does indeed involve water.

Bad luck Neil. Never mind, it’s only a game. Although, I got 68% at ‘my’ game yesterday!

Cinque, get well.

Back luck CalifD. Irritating to lose a post.

Quacka, who cares if they think you’re weird?

Hello Xatie, we haven’t met as I’ve been busy. Still fasting no matter what though. Yes, PerthGirl, it is a lifestyle choice. Thank you!

LJ, school holiday babysitting I’m guessing.

Hi Anzac! How are you?

Neilithicman

8:29 pm
16 Jul 19
Permalink

Hi everyone. Goal number 1 hit, I stayed in double digits two weeks in a row. I lost 300 grams last week to now sit at 99.0 kilos flat. My next goal is 35 kilos total loss which is 2.5 kilos away at 96.5 kilos.

CalifDreamer

9:29 pm
16 Jul 19
Permalink

Neil, congrats on hitting Goal #1. Staying in the double digits for 2 weeks means you’re really there. It must feel great!

LJ, that air fryer doesn’t look overly large on your bench. How much does it hold in terms of kg? You’ve almost convinced me to get one but I have so many kitchen appliances. Foods seem to cook like they would on a grill, but perhaps faster? And it’s certainly more convenient. I do love kitchen gadgets. (I love your bench tops! And the light turquoise toaster and coffee maker look so nice.)

I found a great site with some lentil recipes: https://www.thegardengrazer.com/?s=Red+lentil+ Actually, all of their recipes look pretty good. That red lentil and sweet potato soup is one I may try soon, even though it’s kind of warm here for soups. Perthgirl, you’ll probably like all the legume recipes. They’re great because they’re so full of fiber.

Yesterday’s FD was successful with 1.3 kg loss. I am making a big effort to keep the eating under control today so I don’t gain it all back. It must be the ups and downs of fasting and overeating that allows for such a big loss overnight. When I was initially losing my losses after a fast day were lower. But my weight is very slowly inching up overall, which is the reason I need to get back to better NFD eating habits. I’ve gained about 3 kg since the beginning of the year. That’s not the direction I want to be going. But had I not been fasting 2 days per week it probably would have been 10 or more.

Cinque

12:28 am
17 Jul 19
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Cali I think you might be like me, feeling all settled into 5:2, a sustainable way of eating, keeping me at my healthy weight… oops, that waist band is getting tighter!
It is fast day for me and I plan a fasty fast one.
Yours was magnificent! Good luck for your day after fast day. I hope you can do all the good things. Concentrate on all the lovely non-eating things to do (as I am telling myself too).

Perthgirl, it sounds as if you have a wonderful life, inspite of the 2am tent issues. Hooray for rice and lentils. Good point about that 24th of a cake haha.

LJoyce, a treat day yesterday, and they do sound lovely treats, but not as lovely as that salad and chicken! Hooray for two good walks. I’m following that savvy dietician now.

Thin, a nice added clue. Will you be northern hemisphere for a while, I wonder. Or living in a houseboat?
And a brilliant bridge score by the sound of it.

Neil, what a comfort to NOT bounce back over 100. You might never see those three figure numbers on the scale EVER again. Wow.

Cali (and Perthgirl and everyone) a fascinating article in my fb feed this morning (if you are interested in archeology) with great lentils reference: https://www.abc.net.au/news/2019-07-17/prehistoric-city-offers-glimpse-of-ancient-living-near-jerusalem/11315532?sf215853796=1

Best wishes all.

Neilithicman

1:02 am
17 Jul 19
Permalink

Lentils are one of my go-tos on fast days. I often have some dahl made with half a cup of lentils then I’ll throw in some extra protein with some paneer cheese, curried chicken livers, or a couple of boiled eggs. Half a cup of cooked lentils have less than 200 calories, but has a quarter of the days’s protein requirements and half the day’s fiber requirements.

Although since it’s weigh-in day, and I weigh myself first thing in the morning, I’m enjoying a non-fast day today 😉

PerthGirl

2:13 am
17 Jul 19
Permalink

LG, thank you for the reference to the Savvy Dietician, and the quick reference chart. BTW, although (or maybe because) I was involved in software development/engineering for so much of my professional life, I don’t have a Facebook account. I know I am missing out on lots of really good information, but I just can’t let so much info about me loose into the ether-world. However, I can usually find a way to follow posts.

Cali, thanks for the legume recipe site, I had not come across it before, so it is yet another source of ideas. Remember, if the FDs are good the problem must be with those pesky NFDs. I found that keeping an honest NFD food diary just for a week or two exposed my guilty secrets. I didn’t have to count calories/KJ, just writing down the food items was enough 🙁 And … it’s never too warm for soup.

Well done Neil, another lentil-lover!

Cinque, Hope you are well today. I do indeed, have a wonderful life (it would be perfect if I could actually master playing bridge – although thinking about it, playing with lifetime bridge player PerthBoy could actually make it less than perfect). We are always planning future adventures, and hoping that our ageing limbs agree to go along for the ride.

Regards to everyone else.

PG

Quacka

2:23 am
17 Jul 19
Permalink

Good Morning SH’s

It’s FD today and I am feeling a lot more positive about it than Monday’s FD. I have planned a veggie dinner tonight of Cauliflower fried rice with lots of other veggies thrown in – Brussels, carrot, mushrooms, capsicum, broccoli and of course the staples, garlic and onion. OH will have some of that with a small piece of steak.
Last night’s NFD dinner was also veggie based with a piece of chicken breast as protein for each of us. I made a big tray of roasted veggies and then poured over a miso sauce for the last 10 minutes to caramelise while the chicken was cooking. It was awesome.

I have a tin of “Tuno” with me to try today. It is a plant based tuna substitute so I am very interested to see how it tastes. Its a medium size tin and only 88 calories.

My weight today after a CD is exactly the same as yesterday morning which was after a FD. I think the salt in the pea and ham soup is playing a big part in my weight reading at the moment. I didn’t realise how salty it was until I had the leftovers for lunch yesterday, although I did have extra ham in it yesterday. Next time I make it I am going to use just one teaspoon of stock powder for a big slow cooker soup instead of two. I think the ham hock imparts plenty of flavour anyway without the need for stock.

Anyway I hope everyone is having a nice day today. Time for me to do some work and stop waffling! lol

Take care x

Anzac65

6:04 am
17 Jul 19
Permalink

Good afternoon loser friends (LOL)

Yes, somehow maintaining my sense of humour!

Glad your FD is much more positive today Quacka. Mine wasn’t great yesterday but certainly not a disaster. Scales dipped

Hello PerthGirl, we haven’t met but your adventures sound amazing. You also sound like another SH’er who has been very successful with this WOL. Very encouraging

Hope your fasty FD is going well Cinque

LJ, you so rarely fall off the wagon so you will be back on it asap. Thanks for the info re fibre, I need to read up as I know I don’t get enough most of the time

Cali, I am currently doing just what you said you are doing. Great, or mostly great, FD’s then overeating on NFD’s. For me, specifically, on the weekends. I’m hanging onto the 84’s grimly at the moment and very determined to not slip back into the 85’s. But the 83’s seem a long long way away.

Maxx is great, still has good and bad days behaviour wise. But I can see him slowly maturing but then a ‘ping’ of teenager naughtiness will suddenly bubble up. E.g. he hadn’t nicked a t-towel off the oven door for weeks and weeks and then two days ago absconded with two plus the hand towel all at once. This morning I found him with one of my work shoes and one slipper in his mouth also at the same time. Once he would have taken off with them but as soon as I said ‘drop it’ he did. But had I not been there he would have chewed them. I think. GAH! At training he is jeckle and hyde. Last week the trainer said his ability in the middle of the class would have seen him graded to 3rd class; but at the beginning and the end totally distracted. He is still young – 21months in two days.

Unfortunately, to join all the SH’s in the wars, I spent almost the entire night awake with bad stomach pains. I am at work but in zombie mode. The only good thing is I’m not hungry. Only a couple more hours to go.

LJoyce

8:39 am
17 Jul 19
Permalink

Good afternoon all.

NFD and no babysitting today, but multiple medical appointments – so still a very long day stuck in traffic due to the seemingly endless roadworks everywhere I went.

On the plus side I managed to avoid eating lunch out, despite having 30 mins to spare around 1pm – I went for a walk instead. When I got home at 3:30 I was ravenous so I made myself mushrooms and poached eggs with wholemeal sourdough toast. It was yummy, but I did go back for extra toast. At least I am sticking to my self-promise of no added sugars today. I have a large bowl of Scotch broth waiting for dinner and given how I feel now, I’m not expecting much appetite. Hopefully that means just one piece of toast to go with the soup.

While I was ill I stopped posting my NFD fess ups. The promise I’ve made to myself since I’ve gotten back into daily posts, is that I can stop doing the NFD fessup, but if I have a bad day I do have to fess up about that immediately. I’m hoping the threat of exposure will continue to keep me on a healthy path most of the time.

Anzac, get well soon. You’ve had more than your share of illness this winter too.

Cinque, you sound better today, I hope you stay well. Any sign of that new heater yet?

Quacka, I love big veggie tray bakes as they provide the bulk of several meals to make life easier for a few days. I hadn’t considered using miso – good to know that it is delicious. I hasn’t heard of tuno, and will be interested to know what you think. (Is it next to the tuna in the supermarket or with the vegan foods?)

PerthGirl, I am never logged into facebook and I can still access the SavvyDietitian facebook http address through my laptop internet without any obstruction.
I have the same reservations about facebook and have registered under a false name with false personal details because there are a few things, like cafe menus, that I can’t see easily without a facebook login. Facebook thinks I’m in my 90s and they seem to have no suitable ads for that age group!

Neil, well on on reaching the first of your new set of goals. Double digits is a hard one to give up when you’ve fought so hard for it so I’m not surprised you worked hard to stay there this week. Once you have the buffer of a few kilos it will feel like you are safely and permanently in double digits.

Thin, well done on that bridge score. I’m happy with anything over 50%. I’m not going to bridge this week as our beginners lessons have ended and we’ve been moved into the novice playing group. That means we have a 30min “lesson” on topics we choose before a session of supervised play. As all the teachers went to Melbourne for the national competition this week there will be no lesson. So I decided to give myself a week off since it’s been a busy week. Next week I’m going to join the Thursday morning playing group as that time slot allows novice play and the mornings will suit me better.

Cali, thanks for the link to the lentil recipes. I’ll send you some info and photos of my airfryer by email so I don’t keep clogging up our forum with this topic.

I agree about the joys of lentils – my second favourite legume after chickpeas.

Have a good evening all.

Klondikekween

1:29 pm
17 Jul 19
Permalink

Hi all

LJ. You have very pretty appliances and it’s nice to have lots of space to display them. I hadn’t thought of putting the Airfryer on the table and I can also put the top down on the stove and that gives me extra bench space. I had a look at the Kmart one and it did not look sturdy so I bought the Aldi one. I have worked out where it can live when not in use but I also want to keep the box until I’m satisfied it is a goer and that is going to cause some grief. I made chips tonight but didn’t soak them first and they still turned out ok. Did you have fun inventing your Facebook persona? Best of luck with your new phase of bridge.

Quakka Well done for getting through those FD’s even though you were struggling. That idea of the miso sauce on the veggies sounds really tasty. I love your quote, it applies to everyone of us.

Cinque. I bet that waistband doesn’t stay tight for long, you are so good at monitoring yourself that any deviation is picked up and dealt with smartly. I have to ask, what involvement does your sister have with baseball. OH played that and then softball until he was 67 and DD still plays softball.

Perthgirl You bring back memories of overland trips that we have done in South America and Africa. Ours were with tour groups but sleeping on 3cm thick mattress in a tent, no toilet block at all and finding large deposits of hippo poo when you get up is definitely not the way most people travel but I wouldn’t change a thing because that was the only way we could afford such wonderful trips. Now that I am lighter and fitter I would love to walk the Inca trail again. It would be so much easier. You are definitely the poster couple for getting on the most out of your life.

Thin Another little teaser, your going to be a pirate, I can see it now.

Anzac. Hope that your stomach behaves itself and you are feeling better. Does Maxx have a really guilty look when you catch him or does he try and look innocent. Nice that you can see improvement but I bet those naughty flashes also make you laugh.

Neil. Congrats on your continued success. If you like listening to podcasts then there is one called the The Greatest Season That Was presents 99 Cricket World Cup. Won’t make you feel any better but it is put together by three young sporting tragics who have done quite a bit of research and made a very interesting program. Great to listen to while you are exercising.

We are still enjoying lovely settled weather although the nights are a bit nippy. Did a variation on HIIT last night. There was some musical entertainment here at the camp and OH and I had a number of dances. We love to jive, rhumba and cha cha but haven’t done much in quite a few years. It was a delight to be able to move so freely and without puffing. Well, a bit of puffing.

aurorin

2:37 pm
17 Jul 19
Permalink

Hi all again…

I just realised that my post did appear eventually and I thought maybe I didn’t post it right or something. Had to track back a bit as its been two weeks since I came back to the thread! Thank you, Cinque, Anzac et al for the warm welcome!

I had a couple days break from 4:3 when we took kiddo to Sydney for a holiday (still walking heaps, but no FD) but came back and restarted my routine, so everything is back on track. Feeling quite empowered by the experience to know that I can do it, and have a holiday isn’t “falling off the wagon”. Was nursing a cold over the weekend, thanks to the blast of cold front in Melbourne. Hope those of you in Melbourne are keeping warm!! And those of you feeling under the weather,get well soon!

I am looking forward to warmer days. Incidentally having a cold made me lost my appetite so that’s bit miserable (though my progress that weekend was excellent.. Haha). But glad to be well and back up and about, and exercising.

I am reading lots of posts about food.. And loving the great ideas. My partner typically cooks or we eat at my parents. They are all used to my 4:3 now. I don’t expect them to change their diet but they have been including lots of broths/soups on my FD so if I am feeling I need something more substantial than water/tea, there’s other options. I am finding I get eat most stuff on NFD and still make good progress (average 500-700gram loss per WK) if I cut quantity of carbs and eat reasonable portions.

Sending positivity to everyone on the thread..

thinatlast

10:59 pm
17 Jul 19
Permalink

Klond, I can’t think of a better holiday memory than waking up to find hippo poo outside my tent.

LJ, if you’re achieving over 50% at your stage of learning bridge, I am very impressed. I knew you would be good at it. I think we would regularly get scores in the 30s last year. I suppose it does depend on the strength of the opposition to some extent though. Your club’s structure for progressing the newbies sounds excellent.

I slept in until 5.15am this morning. Small mercies. No Wednesday fast. Weight 56.4kg.

Cinque

11:44 pm
17 Jul 19
Permalink

Good morning,
Lovely day after fast day for me.

I’m heading up to visit my friend. A big day. I’m going to have to make it once a month, I think, so my health stops sliding. Grrr. But that is life.

Neil, dahl, yum! It is a staple here (I have four main recipes I make, whittled down after trying SO many, all good but some became favourites). Such a magnificent meal.

Quacka, I am surprised your pea and ham soup recipe has stock powder added. I bet it will be delicious without it.

Anzac, Maxx has improved drastically from your early tales of disaster!
I hope your stomach pains are gone.

LJoyce, no sign of an unwanted new heater! I am very much enjoying how much easier life is with it working again.

Klondi my sister keeps telling me who she plays baseball with, but I have a mind like a sieve. I’ll ask her again and write it down!

Lovely to see your post Aurorin, aren’t you doing brilliantly with 4:3. How wonderful of family to have soup/broth on hand to keep you safe and included.
Yes, Melbourne is so cold. Hooray for woolly layers.

Haha Thin, I agree about the hippo poo! Hooray for a slightly better wake up time!

Best wishes everyone

Anzac65

12:04 am
18 Jul 19
Permalink

Good morning all

Klond, Thin, I too would consider finding hippo poo outside my tent a true, wonderful holiday memory. We camped in the Ngorogoro crater in Africa and woke to find a stampede of buffalo had run through the camp and whilst terrifying to think what could have happened it is still an amazing memory. This was when we were in our late 40’s so our ‘tent’ was pretty luxurious but when we camped in our 20’s and 30’s we couldn’t afford more than the bare necessities. Even then we had amazing trips.

LJ, we took delivery of our first ever pasta machine yesterday! I also want an air fryer but OH isn’t so keen. I’ll work on him. I can’t wait to make our first pasta and while I don’t eat a lot of pasta at all, my very small portions will be so much better for it being homemade. Ugh, traffic, there is nothing more frustrating. Sorry you had such a long day with your medical appointments, but I hope all the results are positive. Sounds like you had a very controlled NFD so that’s great.

Perthgirl, my hubby and I live for travelling but I’m not one for roughing it so our trips are every couple of years while we save up. I read that you were in software development/engineering and I am in the same business – but not on the development side. I am a Business Analyst and very much more on the business side, not technical. I am currently involved in a very large program at one of our big four banks to replace a decades old, in-house product system and while it is stressful I am enjoying the challenges.

What a difference a good night’s sleep makes. After suffering intermittent insomnia all my life I knew that an almost completely missed night’s sleep would trigger many nights of tossing and turning unless I intervened with a tried and true (and largely chemical) process. So I did; two small glasses of wine, a small and healthy dinner and half a restovit (I rarely take more than a quarter) plus OH took Maxx downstairs to sleep. I slept like the proverbial rock and I feel like a new person. I know it isn’t a good or particularly healthy approach and I wouldn’t do it more than a couple of times a year but it just had to be done.

Thin, how is the packing going? I’m intrigued about the ‘water’ clue as I can’t see you a someone who would go cruising (but I could be wrong) so I’m thinking more along the lines of a houseboat somewhere? Do tell soon!

Neil, you are still inspiring me. Whoo Hoo to staying in double digits for two weeks in a row. You will never be triples again.

Cali, I meant to say yesterday a huge congrats on your 1.3kg FD and I agree that if we weren’t fasting 2 days per week any gain would be triple or more. Is it starting to heat up over there? I saw on the forecast that it is supposed to be 24 here next Tuesday so perhaps the worst of winter is behind us? The next 10 days it is forecast to be sunny and between 18 and 24 during the day. The mornings and evenings are still very cold though. It was 8 when I hopped in the car this morning. Even Maxx looked cold

I was 84.4 this morning, my lowest yet but I didn’t eat much yesterday so I’m not putting too much store in it. I would normally have a FD today but my tum still isn’t great so I’m just going with a CD.

Cinque, I love history and archaeology so thanks for your article, it was really interesting. That’s one of the main reasons I am so excited to be going to Europe . Hubby is an architectural draftsman and a lover of ancient buildings so we both should have an amazing time. We’ve splurged in Rome and booked a room that has a little balcony that is literally a stone’s throw from the Parthenon. Have a lovely day with your friend but I’m so sorry you have to restrict your outings in order to rest. Glad your home is cosy and warm now that your heating is fixed

Hi Aurorin, lovely to hear from you. One of the greatest things about 5:2 is the ability to have a break/holiday then come straight back to it and continue on your downward (or maintenance) trend. Hope you enjoyed your trip to Sydney and I hope your cold vanishes asap.

Sorry for the long post but I’ve been catching up after many days of only being able to skim your lovely posts. Still not quite there but hope to catch up during the day today as I have a rare day of not too many meetings/deadlines.

Have a great day and hi to everyone I haven’t mentioned

Quacka

1:22 am
18 Jul 19
Permalink

Good Morning everyone

Welcome Aurorin and PerthGirl, nice to read your interesting posts.

Just a quick post from me today.

LJ, the Tuno is in the Vegan/”health” food section. It’s made from textured soy protein and is similar to something I have had before called “casserole mince”. I tried the springwater one which I ate with chilli sauce. For 88 calories it was very filling. It contains something like 12g protein which is amazing and I hope it is accurate! The only thing that worries me is that it contains Maltodextrin which I know is not very good for you. If I keep eating it I will just do so on FD’s as my “get me through to dinner, 3pm snack”.

Weight this morning back into the mid 66’s so I’m happy with that.

Hope everyone is ok. Must go and so some work. Also going to look up what scotch broth is. I’ve never heard of it. Bye for now.

LJoyce

5:28 am
18 Jul 19
Permalink

Good afternoon.

A quiet and relatively lazy day at home for me for a change. I’m not even needed for babysitting today as my nephew is on leave for the next week or so.

I mentioned yesterday that I was staying away from added sugars because I’d overdosed on them the day before. I still had plenty of carbs yesterday, including a generous amount of sourdough, just no sweet things. I didn’t even have fruit. It has proved to me that doing this breaks the cravings cycle for me. I have had no appetite today and I briefly considered having an easy FD, but using this as a light NFD is even more beneficial as I’ll still have to fast tomorrow. I find that if I allow myself sweet processed food (eg cake, biscuits) on consecutive days my body starts demanding it daily through persistent cravings. I am determined to not let myself get back into that pattern as it’s a hard one to break and it makes my NFDs very difficult.

Aurorin, it’s really good to hear that your family is being supportive of your fasting regime. I think that’s important to sticking with this way of life. Good to hear that your weight loss is progressing at a steady pace too.

Quacka, thanks for the review of the tuno. I have used TVP in its dry form as a meat substitute (although not recently) but not in tins. I’ll have to have another look at the “health food” isle and see what they are offering these days. I used to be vegetarian when I was in my 30s and there were far fewer options than are available these days. Packets of dried TVP was one of the few processed options available back then. It was basically a mince substitute – just add water. Plant based is so poplar these days that we are spoiled for choice.
I’m not surprised it was filling, I think a solid serve of protein does that job really well.

Cinque, hope yo have a fabulous day without too many repercussions.

Anzac, I hope your hubby has fun with the new pasta machine. I can’t say I’d get much use from one of those – I enjoy homemade pasta too much, although being able to make pasta from better flour choices with more fibre might help.
That hotel room in Rome sounds wonderful. I have the same attitude to travel. I want comfort and am prepared to have fewer and shorter holidays to allow for that. I can’t be away for longer than a month anyway because of the infusion cycle – a flare up of the RA on holiday would be a really bad thing.
Hope you are feeling better today.

Klondi, that impromptu dance party sounds like a lot of fun. Good exercise too.
I’m glad you found the right airfryer for you. Let us know how you get on with it. I did read online that a few people found it just stopped working after a few months but Aldi gave refunds when that happened – so hanging onto the box and receipt while it’s under warranty is a good idea. (Maybe remove the tape from the box and fold it flat for storage? You don’t have to keep the packing foam as you can get suitable protective packing material from a post office if you need it.)

Thin, the Unley club where I’m learning bridge is huge (thousands of members) and has more members than all other S.A. clubs put together. It’s the only club that provides classes – for beginners, intermediate and advanced levels. They have a huge hall and play bridge there 7 days a week from morning to evening. I definitely don’t always score over 50% – I’m just satisfied with my performance when I do. For now that’s the target I hope/aim for. Bear in mind I am only playing against people with as little experience as I have.

The sun tentatively peeking out from the clouds so I’ll take that as my cue to go for a walk. Have a nice afternoon all.

Crazy artist

10:42 am
18 Jul 19
Permalink

Evening alot of new names so welcome to all… 4 months since i started 4-3 from the start of June till today my waist has stayed the same im still fasting but getting disheartened took photos like you said, they are terrible but will take another next week its a fortnight fingers crossed i see an improvement im still lurking most days and enjoying the posts, i have a sunbeam airfryer and a little oven, both sit on the bench side by side i use both pies in the airfryer are so crispy, chicken drums turn out great too, but i still do my sausages in the little oven…. i use my foreman steamer for most veges hubby throws in a couple of potatoes for himself with my veges lol i do fish and chicken as well, saves on dishes its great … the choices we have on how to cook are great these days.
Everyone have a great weekend my fast day is nearly over, next one sunday take care all

Cinque

11:59 am
18 Jul 19
Permalink

Lindsay: https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/23245/20190709/bees-are-the-most-important-living-being-on-earth.htm in case you haven’t seen this

Lgbran

12:18 pm
18 Jul 19
Permalink

Hello,
I’m from Geelong Victoria, Day 4 of fasting. Trying to do the OMAD diet. So far so good thanks to a few apps. Struggled on and off for years with weight despite being very active. Great full for stumbling across this forum. Hoping to loose 20 kgs yet again. Hardest part keeping it off. Suportive wife but don’t know about my GP.
Cheers

thinatlast

11:34 pm
18 Jul 19
Permalink

Anzac, Klond’s hippo poo reminded me of camping in Ngorogoro crater too! We woke on a misty morning to discover a herd of zebra right outside our tent. Zebra poo is not quite as exotic as your spore but funny that it evoked exactly that memory!

LJ, it sounds like a lot of bridge is being played in your neck of the woods. I learned some new tricks yesterday. But will I remember?

Welcome Lgbran. Can’t even imagine what 4 days of fasting would feel like but good luck with your 20kg loss. I lost 23kg with 5:2 and have kept it off (and lost a little extra along the way) for the past 4 years. Keeping it off is easy if you adopt IF as a WOL rather than a ‘diet’.

Besides the kefir, PerthGirl also gave me a piece of information that stuck with me. She told me that she does not snack. If she wants nuts or similar, she incorporates them into her meal. Although I don’t always practice this, I’ve kept it in mind. As a child, I was always told, ‘don’t eat in between meals’. It fits with Dr M’s observation that constant grazing might be OK – but not in addition to 3 meals a day! Food manufacturers’ job is to convince us that we need to eat all day long. Our job is to resist.

Hi everyone else. I’ve run out of time.

Lindsay L.

12:11 am
19 Jul 19
Permalink

Morning. Day off work and I’m relishing it. Cinque thank you for the bee link – the world is in a parlous old state, isn’t it? My girls are thriving…I only observe them through the window of my top bar hive, but thinking if it’s warm and not windy at the weekend, I’ll go in and do some maintenance. They are quite crowded and it’s usual in Spring for them to swarm if they need more space. I’d be very upset to lose half my pals. The solution is to put in another bar for them to build comb on – challenging for the novice beekeeper, which I am.

A funny story. In an act of environmental and economic vandalism, the Council has spent $3M building a bigger, ‘better’ drop off zone at our local school. In the process they’ve cut down dozens of trees where the bush meets the road. DD had Mr 4 over for a play with Miss 3 yesterday, and as they were walking to the school (suburban Brisbane) to pick up the Grade Oner, the little man noticed a tree had been cut down. DD explained they’d cut many, to build a road. ‘Oh no, Aunty K’, said little Mr 4. ‘Was it Adani?

Cinque, Neil. Often eye doctors insert a drop to cause the pupil to dilate so they can get a better view. It’s disconcerting, if you’ve not been warned.

I’m still not seeing clearly after my eye surgery and guess what? It’s my brain not my eye. How funny. Apparently the newer lenses correct distance vision but close sight too, so there’s a reduced need for reading glasses. I had one of those lenses, and now my brain is trying to equalise the vision between both eyes, and it gets very blurry. It will pass soon, apparently.

Cinque you’ve been unwell? How are you now? And LJ, are you over your illness?

Anzac 84.4 is great – you are on your way down, and that’s the most important thing. Remember when you couldn’t break into the 85s? Well, 83 isn’t that far off.

LJ thanks for all the info on the air fryer. I’m converted! Off over the weekend to investigate. I might have to get rid of the rice cooker to fit it in, but that’s okay. I don’t eat it, and it’s crazy to have a big electric appliance for the cup of rice OH eats every now and then.

OK must go – taking OH to have a scan, then to lunch with my vegan BB and SIL. OH is fasting for the scan, so I think he was rather hoping for more than vegan fare, but I’m sure he’ll enjoy it.

Enjoy Friday all.