Hello Southern Hemispherites!!

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  • Good afternoon loser friends (tee hee)

    I’m having a rare Thursday WFH and it has been lovely. However Thursday is FD so I am having my first ever FD at home. I thought it would be too hard but in fact it isn’t. The only hard time was when hubby had his hot lunch and it smelt so good; so I went and cleaned up the kitchen while he ate it and anyway, it is no different to everyone eating their lunch around me at work.

    I’m disappointed as the winter sales are already on and so I have to buy my jacket and warm clothes for the trip before I lost the weight I wanted. My own greedy fault but hopefully it means I will be walking around Europe in clothes that are too big for me. I’m going to get snug fits so I am totally forced to lose at least a size in the next 16.5 weeks

    I’m the same as you Quacka re breakfast. Some days I really need it and others I’m better off without it.

    Thin, so sorry that you are feeling the empty nest pain :(. Please tell us what it was like watching strangers move into your home today. I’m sure it is bitter-sweet. I loved loved loved the revenge robber story.

    Betsy, so far Maxx is still pristine. He did have a bit of a roll in the wet grass on our walk this morning but he is still soft and fluffy. This may change very soon as hubby just took him to the fenced-in dog park that is usually quite dusty so I’m not sure what colour dog will come home.

    Neil you have inspired me to start doing sit ups at night. My OH laughed at what I call a ‘sit up’ (beast he is) as I barely get my shoulders off the ground. But one has to start somewhere right?

    LJ, I feel your pain re Antarctica as we had to make the hard decision based on cost; but I do love your resolve about setting foot on every continent. Never give up I say. Do you have any friends who might be able to go with you to avoid the single supplement? I did see some trips where you can share your cabin with a stranger, but I’m guessing that wouldn’t suit (I know I wouldn’t chance it).

    Ok back to work, take care

    Ljoyce – I’ve gone down a notch on my belt and I can feel the muscles on my tum if I poke into the little pooch of fat that’s covering it, so I guess it’s working, I’ll let you know at the end of the month how it’s helped.

    Anzac – yes, that’s what I told my boy. When he started parkour the instructor told him he had to be able to do 15 chin-ups and he was discouraged that he could only do 1. I told him that he wouldn’t be able to do 15 right from the beginning and that he had to work at it. He can do 7 or 8 now.

    Checking in earlier than usual this evening.

    Thin, I am getting very curious about the long-term plans you and OH have. Residing across the road is obviously just an interim stay, so….. ??

    Quacka, I get it re the breakfast thing, to stave off the munchies for the day.

    LJoyce, yeah re the crackers. I was surprised when the nutritionists said to look for baked chips rather than fried, as their calorie count is similar, but it seems to be more to do with less potential trans or saturated oils. Sounds like your Antarctic trip will be safer, as there’ll be medical care on the ship.

    Anzac65, glad Maxx stayed clean for at least a day, but after today’s visit to the dog park – how was he? I sympathise re the buying of clothes. Actually, once the winter clothing went on special, I bought some clothing items in two sizes, one for now (and already one-two sizes down on my previous size), plus one in a smaller size that I can only just ooze into – cheap jeans for when I’m lighter.

    Neilithicman, good that the sit-ups are working well for you. Have you looked up the dead bug exercise yet?

    Okay, catch you all next time.

    Good evening all,

    If you are not interested in Antarctica as a holiday destination please feel free to ignore this post 🙂

    All cruise companies offering expedition(feet ashore) cruises to remote areas require a medical certificate from your regular GP attesting to your current medical condition and, if you have a chronic condition, may request a further letter from the specialist managing your condition. You also have to produce a Travel Insurance certificate that shows that you are fully covered for all medical expenses and medical evacuation, should it be necessary, for the Antarctic and South American regions. When you choose your cruise it’s a good idea, if you have any ongoing medical issues, to contact their head office directly prior to making a booking – in general travel agents are not well-informed about this area.

    For expedition cruises a certain level of physical fitness/agility will be necessary (a) be able to walk for up to two hours in muck boots (very heavy gum boots) as this is the only footwear permitted in the antarctic and arctic regions – the outsides of boots are disinfected after every shore landing; (b) be able to get into and out of a Zodiac, with assistance, in waters that may rise and fall between 50-70cm; (c) be able to sit, sideways, on the ‘tube’ of a zodiac, holding onto a safety rope with both hands for periods of 10 – 45 (sometimes bumpy) minutes for shore landing transfers and ‘scenic cruising’; (d) be confident walking on wet, rocky and shingle landing sites, on dry rocky paths, and in up to 20cm of snow in aforementioned muck boots. But, this is simply my observations to help ensure that you can get the best out of your cruise.

    IMHO, the Norwegian shipping company, Hurtigruten, offers the best, all-round value for money – their single supplement is usually around +50%, rather than the +100% of some companies. The cabins are all comfortable, even those at the lower end of the price range; food is plentiful, fresh, and healthy; dining is informal, no tuxes or gowns required; expedition staff are helpful, careful and caring during shore excursions, and experts in their specific area of scientific knowledge – presenting an excellent program of shipboard lectures about the area you are visiting; their ships visit a good number of sites in the Antarctic Peninsula, often getting as far south as the Russian Vernadsky station at 65’15”.

    From Australia the current best travel option is the Qantas/LATAM partnership through Santiago de Chile to Buenos Aires. Most cruise companies provide a return charter flight between Buenos Aires and Ushuaia.

    OK, off my soapbox
    Regards
    PG

    Thanks for the well wishes Betsy, Quacka, Anzac and LJ. I followed LJ’s selling/buying/packing/moving reparations closely knowing I wouldn’t be far behind. Unfortunately, I wasn’t quite the machine that LJ proved to be. Nevertheless, we got there in the end. My years of downsizing, it turned out, has paid off because we barely filled a quarter of our storage locker. It made me feel good to know that we now own less than a quarter of the contents of an ‘average’ family home – if there is such a thing.

    Anzac, I was out at bridge all morning but it was a bit odd to return to find a large moving truck in ‘our’ driveway. This morning at 4.30am, ‘our’ hall light was on, presumably left on all night for the young children. As we sold privately, we have developed a nice relationship with the new owners which you wouldn’t get if using an agent. It all seems a bit incestuous – they’re in ‘our’ place, we’re living in the house of a young couple who are renting another house on our street so it’s like musical chairs. Mail is being walked up and down the street to its rightful owner!

    Good morning all.

    Instead of arriving with my nephew’s birthday cake made, I took the pavlova discs, passionfruit cream and 4 punnets of berries with me to babysitting and let the kids do it. I was so pleased with how well they did. The only bit I insisted on doing myself was placing the 2 pavlova discs as they shatter easily.
    I asked Miss5 to cut the strawberries for the middle as I knew her cutting wouldn’t be neat (lots of enthusiasm but accuracy is not her forte) and Mister7 got the job of cutting the strawberries for the top because he’s very precise in what he does. They even decided what pattern they wanted to use to layout the fruit on top. The only thing I had to show them was how to use a palette knife to spread cream. If you are fasting you many not want to look at the pics: https://imgur.com/a/y8R3U7q They did such a neat job and their dad was delighted when he got home as pavlova is a real favourite of his. When you have the time, baking with kids is such fun.

    Neil, that sounds like excellent progress. Doesn’t it feel wonderful to notice some leanness and muscle tone after being overweight. I remember the joy of actually being able to feel my hip bones when I lost weight. I’m still working very slowly on the muscle tone.

    Betsy, I agree that getting away from tansfats is important but I think on a regular basis crispbreads are a healthier choice. For me they fall into the discretionary food catergory and I only want to have them occasionally not regularly. I can usually tell when something is unhealthy – I could easily eat a packet of tasty crackers (BBQ shapes, yum) in one sitting, but I couldn’t do that with any crispbread.
    I tend to use corn thins which are about 100kj (24cal) as I think they have more flavour than the ones made from rice. I try to put interesting toppings including salad veg on them – I find this a very useful option for a summer lunch. I usually use ricotta cheese or avocado as the spread.

    Thin, it just shows how well most of the residents in your street get along. You are right, you don’t normally get to meet the people you sell to. I did, because they asked if they could meet me and I was happy to oblige – it gave me a chance to walk them over the property and explain where all the underground pipes were etc.
    Sounds like all those things you sold online were worth the effort in more than just money. Too many people buy houses to fit all their stuff without really considering what they actually need at the next stage of life.

    Anzac, given the stress you’ve been under at work having one FD per week at home might be a good option moving forward. I had been thinking of suggesting you consider a FD on weekends. It might seem like you are too near temptation, but I think stress and tiredness are harder to fight when it comes to eating.

    PG, thankyou so much for that info. Getting a letter from my rheumatologist will take some time, so it’s good to be forewarned about that. I think I’m fit enough to meet the requirements you listed, but I should probably plan this trip before I get too much older. Also good to know that Hurtigruten do Antarctica. I had already identified them as my cruise company of choice for doing the Norwegian fjords (and perhaps further into the Arctic) but hadn’t realised they also did the other end of the globe too.

    I have bridge this afternoon. Fingers crossed we don’t end up at the bottom today. I’m still not sure how we managed to do so well last week.
    After 2 days of heavy rain and high winds there’s a lull this morning before the next lot arrives. I need to head out for a walk while I have the chance.

    Have a nice day everyone.

    I was reminded today of how easy it is to follow old behaviour patterns when I’m inattentive.
    There was afternoon tea at Bridge this afternoon. I thought, gee I’m glad yesterday was a FD, I can have some. I had 1/4 slice of banana bread and a sliver of a brownie. It was a very modest amount – which would have been good, except that I’m meant to be avoiding added sugar. It wasn’t until I was driving home feeling pleased about my restraint, that I remembered I was meant to be avoiding sugar. Oh dear!

    Oh dear, don’t worry LJ, I’m sure that the couple or teaspoons of sugar in the snacks isn’t going to break the bank.

    I am happy with my progress, but I’m really at the impatient stage. I know I’ve lost a heap of weight already, I know that has allowed me to get out and exercise more easily, I know that exercise has started shaping my body, I know the rest of the weight will come off in time now that I’m eating right and exercising, but I just want that last 10 kilos or so to be gone now!!

    Neil, I understand your frustration, I’ve been there. You are at the most frustrating end of the weight loss. There’s nothing I know of that will create the sort of weight loss rate you experienced in the beginning. Even if you went back to doing 800cal every day again, your weight loss would still be slower now because you are much lighter.
    Working through this final stage does achieve something very useful that I think helps in the long term. It’s a struggle and having a period of time during the weight loss when we have to fight for every kilo, or sometimes every 100grams helps us really appreciate the effort it takes to get to a healthy weight. I found that my memories of that long frustrating battle was a strong motivator to maintain my weight, because I never want to go through that again. If it was quick and easy then I think we’d be less concerned if our weight increased because we’d think we can deal with it easily. It’s things we have to fight the hardest for that we appreciate the most.
    You will get there and you will have earned every gram you fought to lose and you will want to hang on to those hard earned results.

    LJ, I hear you about how easy it is to slip into old habits. I was at work from 7.00am until 10.00pm yesterday and my resolve completely vanished. I ate well all day as I was prepared but then I had a 75g bag of pretzels and then three slices of pizza. Followed by an XL glass of red wine when I got home at 11.00pm to try and wind down quickly. I didn’t weigh myself this morning

    I feel good today because the boys let me sleep in until 7.45 and then we had a lovely, vigorous walk in the sunshine. It is VERY cold; I couldn’t believe it when I left the building last night. I honestly have never felt that cold in Sydney

    Neil, dig deep for the patience to get through the next few months. Just keep reminding yourself how far you have come

    I must run, we are heading out to the shops. Will check in later

    Have a great day

    Good morning,
    I had a write off day yesterday (fess up, played a computer game while I had breakfast, a dungeon lasted over two hours without a break and I was wrecked for the day and now have two days of housework waiting for me) (yes, go on, roll your eyes) (I’m having a fast day today just so I don’t need to worry about food prep 😉 )

    I’ve been thinking about LJoyce’s comments on eating binge food sensibly and Betsy’s experience with soy caramel crackers (can’t remember the exact name), and there must be a continuum where the food gets so far down to the Non Food end that it really shouldn’t be in the house at all. It is nuts, and home made junket with no sugar, or no sugar muhallabia, and watermelon, that I would like to have in the house without bingeing.

    Cali, before I went completely off sugar I used a little Frosty to make my own icecream. It was great because it was so much nicer than even the most expensive bought brands that they lost attraction, and just enough work that I only made it as a special treat, and a fairly small amount.
    It is such a pity that the freezing dulls the sugar so much that you need lots of it in icecream.

    Thin, you did it, and with only a quarter space of storage. Impressive! You are adventurers again. I do hope DD is settling in nicely. WHEN are we going to find out what you are doing next??? We have been very patient!

    LJoyce, how lovely for the littlies to help put the pavlova together. Spectacular!

    Anzac, I hope you bought some lovely warm clothes, and in the happy knowledge they will not be too tight by the time you go on your holiday!

    Neil patience, patience, take the long view.
    Impatience might be the sign that you are doing so much it isn’t sustainable, so do remember that being easy and sustainable is a goal too!

    Everyone is doing so well (with the expected small slips). I am all set for a lovely fast day and some especially nice miso soup because I made proper dashi last fast day, and it is SO yummy.

    Off to put some order back in the house. best wishes all.

    PS comrades suffering the chilling antarctic blast, a tiny bit of sun is shining through my window! woot.

    Cinque, I was quite worried about you (with the cold weather you were having), I didn’t realise you were trapped in a dungeon 🙂 Welcome back to the real world (of housework). Can you really make sugar-free muhallabia?

    Neil, one reason your weight loss will have slowed down is that you are doing much more exercise now that you are lighter. Exercise needs and build muscles, and muscles weigh something. So some of the fat weight you are losing is being added back as muscle weight – how good is that! As Cinque said, now is the time to ensure that what you are doing is sustainable as a WOL, and that you won’t get frustrated because you are denying yourself things you really want. Much better to go slowly and be able to make it a lifetime habit, than go quickly and then “go off the diet” when you reach your goal weight.

    Anzac, could you keep something in your desk to replace pretzels for the late nights. I well remember the “smell of pizza”, courtesy of management when they needed us to work late and couldn’t come up with any deliverable food alternative that we could eat at our desk, at that time of night. You would think that with all these food delivery companies they could improve on pizza as the automatic option!

    LJ, well done on recognising so quickly (on the way home) that you had strayed from your plan. That probably wouldn’t have happened before you began your weight-loss journey. Now, we also are able to say “oops, that was a mistake” and move on, rather than letting a small mishap derail all the good we’ve achieved.

    Thin, I shudder to think what would happen if we had to pack up and move. Our last move was 20 years ago, and PerthBoy is a hoarder. He has boxes of our academic work, plus 12″ computer tapes from the 1960s and 8″ computer floppy disks from the 1970s and all the associated paraphernalia to go with them. We would probably need some of your spare space. As Cinque asked, when are you going to put us out of our misery re your adventurous plans?

    Hi, Lindsay, Cali and Betsylee.

    I wouldn’t blame those of you suffering the cold, east of the rabbit-proof fence if you went into hiberation for a few days. Wish I could send you some of our warm sunshine.

    Have a good weekend all

    PG
    “If you don’t take care of your body, where are you going to live?”

    Hi all,
    A lovelly Winters day. I used to bag winter not so long ago but am finding it easier to excercise (long walks).
    put on the dry as a bone, loaded my pocket full of dog treats( for the dog) and off we went down the trail. Completed 14 kms , tad windy with the odd drop of rain. To wet and windy to cycle and pretty cold in the garage where my rower and spin bike live. I’m getting the routine of a 22 hour fast with a 2-3 hour eating period. Long term I will see- try a few things mentioned here. Cooking the odd meal for my wife. I’m not a cook, takes me forever to read a recipe and prepare a meal. Using the Airfryer tonight whipped up some sweet potato fries. Yummy and far better for you then potato chips. Tomorow is another walk. Not so long but a daily walk with my mini foxy is a given except on rare days. Weighing mysellf Mon, We’d, and Fri. So far I’ve lost a few kgs without torturing myself in the process. Looking forward to the warmer months. Bali and a cruise in the new year. Will enjoy myself though, already checked out the ships gym. Best thing of all it was relatively empty. Re moving we were in the same house for 35 years and downsized a year ago. Best thing ever and the new house is very user friendly. No regrets at all, enjoy the rest of the the weekend and hope your football team wins
    Cheers

    Lgbran, how did you tackle that downsize after 35 years? PerthGirl, my heart goes out to you! Floppy disks! Oh my goodness. Our very good friends have a huge shed full of ‘things’ they haven’t looked at for decades. It’s not even neatly packed in there. I feel so sorry for their children when, one day, they have to fly in from their overseas lives to sort through all that clobber…… Our items are now inventoried to within an inch of their life so I will never have to go through OH’s things again – straight to the tip! But he has done well overall.

    Cinque, yes you have been very patient. PG has already guessed what the next move is so I’ll leave it at that while we wrap us some business over the next week or so. Thanks for asking, I had a long chat to DD yesterday and she is very happy. She likes her accommodation, the beat up vet vehicle and the colleagues she’s met thus far. It’s very James Herriot-like with everyone in the village (from the taxi driver to the service station owner) knowing that she’s the new vet in town! She starts work tomorrow.

    Another FD has rolled around. I’ve remained at exactly 56kg for the past 6 days which makes me wonder whether the scales have croaked. Cauliflower soup at 2pm and those strange noodle things in a green packet that LJ mentioned months ago for dinner. I don’t like them much but I knew they’d come in handy when we started camping out at this house. Cinque, it sounds like you had your FD yesterday, hope it went well and you got all caught up with your tasks.

    For those interested, Rosy Posy has been in touch. She has reached her 60kg goal weight.

    Its just slipped into the afternoon here, sorry i havent posted but have had an awful week or two lol my van blew up was a bit frightening drove straight to the mechanic he has had it all week trying to find the problem he has returned it saying it is drivable but not a permanent fix, he does know we are currently looking for a new van, but im not acc so no automatic replacement so a long process meanwhile the bug came back with a vengeance it hurts to drink or swallow so not keen on any of it.

    But on the plus side its been a month since someone suggested i take a photo i happened to put on the same tshirt so my daughter struck, photo taken, collage done with instructions to check out the frown lines on my face… there weren’t any hahaha my tshirt is longer my spare tyres have reduced significantly my face is thinner so this week i also measured ive lost 2inches off my waist and arms but not my thighs then again my legs were rather swollen…. so thanks for all your hints and helpful suggestions my daughter was truly amazed

    I love the suspense thin has us all in, Anzac i cant believe your work conditions, cinque, LJ, perth girl, Betsy, i learn so much from your posts neil, LGBran you guys are great miss penguin though. If ive forgotten anyone please accept my apologies

    Good on Aussie for winning last night keeps the interest going

    Take care everyone have a good week

    Good morning all.

    I’m hoping for a few fine spots in the day so I can walk. Yesterday I tried twice and managed 11 minutes then 25 minutes before having to rush home out of the rain both times. It’s been that weird weather where one minute the sun is peaking out of the clouds and the next minute it’s bucketing down.

    I’ve seen lots of reports of snow on the east coast – anyone near that?

    Anzac, I don’t think there’s any easy way to handle a day that finishes that late. You’d need to start taking dinner into work as well as lunch to keep it healthy. I think you might need to consider regularly doing at least one FD on your days at home. One of the reasons I originally chose Sunday, was because the weekend was a time I was more likely to overeat. By doing a Sunday FD not only did I get the FD done I removed a day from my week where I may well have eaten over my TDEE if it had been a NFD. So I got a double benefit from that choice. It is hard to juggle the social events, but this doesn’t have to be a forever choice, just an option while your working hours are so long.

    Cinque, I agree that there are some foods that we tend to binge on that are very unhealthy in any quantity and others that are good foods that we need to lean to manage well. I had both on my list and I started addressing those that I wanted in my diet – nuts and cheese. I tackled the chocolate issue at easter time as I had a pile of Haighs milk chocolate in the house and knew it was time to start the 15gram rule immediately. It worked very well. Since then I’ve managed to move away from milk chocolate and develop an appreciation for dark choc and the only time I have milk choc in the house is when it’s gifted to me or for baking.

    Thin, I know that PG mentioned your next adventure would be on water, but I was thinking of you the other night. There was a program on the ABC with a couple looking for a quieter property in the Perth Hills, surrounded by nature rather than neighbours.
    Did you see my earlier post about finding a bridge partner? It has been such a relief to have the consistency of a permanent partner. We’ve only played together in supervised twice, but done well both times.
    Thanks for letting us know what’s happened with Rosy. I had been wondering where she went. Good to hear she got to her goal.

    PG, commiserations over the hoarding. Is it even possible to read floppy discs any more – or has PB kept a very old PC as well? My parents place took many weeks of clearing out when my dad went into aged care. They’d been there since the 1950s and were definitely of the “it might come handy later” mindset.
    After you mentioning Hertigruten doing Antarctica trips I had a good look at their offerings. They have one that is called “White Christmas with Penguins”. As a white christmas is also high on my list of must dos, I think that trip may be the one.

    LGbran, very pleased to hear you are getting good use from your airfryer. I love doing veggie wedges in the airfryer. It’s nice having something that’s healthy but feels like a treat.

    August Challenge Accountability:
    Activity:
    As I’m tracking my weeks from Sun-Sat my first week wrapped up yesterday.
    I met my exercise challenge. My goal was a minimum of 35,000 steps and I managed 54,300. That was almost entirely down to the beautiful weather for Sun-Tues where I managed to do over 30,000 steps as it was so nice outside.
    My exercise program challenge was to start with one exercise and add one extra each time and do two sessions a week. I started this at the beginning of the month so I’ve now done 3 sessions and the last one (yesterday) had 3 exercises – 2 using the fitball and one with hand weights. Yesterday as good test as my back was aching all day and I was concerned about whether to do the exercises or not. However I did them and it didn’t seem to make a difference – no change in the backache. It was good to know that it didn’t make things worse.
    Eating:
    I also did a food reset over the first 10 days of the month. I was trying to avoid added sugars, limit processed foods and do an alternate day 800cal FD. (That meant 5 x 800cal days.)
    You already know that I have had some slips from avoiding added sugar, but they have thankfully been small.
    The 800cal FDs became difficult once the weather got really cold but I stuck with it. It did what I needed it to. You know my relationship with the scales is not a good one, so I measured results with a tape measure. I took my measurements at the beginning and end of the 10 days and I lost 5cm from my waist, 3cm from my hips and nothing from my bust. Needless to say most of my jeans are fitting better now. The tightest ones are still too tight for comfort, but if I stick with the rest of the August plan I’m hoping that will be addressed over the course of the month.
    My eating reset continues for the rest of August. Avoiding added sugar and limiting processed foods. I’ve also been limiting grains and fruit to just small serves. In cold weather I find it far too easy to overeat grains so I’m keeping a tight rein on them and increasing veg, fats and protein to compensate.
    For the remainder of August I will continue with the same food goals, but I’m returning to my normal 5:2 with 500cal FDs on Monday and either Thursday or Friday.

    I’m heading off to do the grocery shopping now. A friend is coming this afternoon. We hope to go for a walk and I’ve promised her scones. As I don’t add sugar to them I will be able to have one and can freeze the rest.

    Have a lovely Sunday.

    Good afternoon (just) in cold Melbourne with patchy sun.

    Nice day after fast day for me.

    PG, the sugarfree muhallabia took some time, I went added-sugar free (including most fruit) over 6 years ago, and it took me three years to be able to enjoy porridge, and a couple more to come at sugar free drinks of cocoa and the junket and muhallabia. But nowadays they taste perfect. 🙂

    I have caught up on the housework, and now I am making more…. I might retreat to another dungeon!

    Lgbran, what fun you are having with the airfryer. Nice to hear of the downsizing, the trips to come and the kilos lost. A good life!

    Thin, it’s a cruise to Antarctica then! What wonderful posts we will get as you travel. I hope there is a bridge game on board.
    What a nice weight to be stable at.
    So glad to hear news of RosyPosy, and such pleasing news. Say hi!

    Crazy Artist, that photograph sounds excellent. you must have been as pleased as your daughter was! Woohoo! Two inches off your waist is really something!
    https://image.shutterstock.com/image-vector/firework-show-on-night-sky-600w-580903789.jpg

    LJoyce, what an impressive food reset. Good luck getting your walk in today. I’m aiming to take Miss 4 to the playground. But it is clouding over…
    Enjoy that scone!

    Best wishes everyone.

    Gee, I miss posting for a couple days and come back to find out Cinque is hanging out in dungeons!

    Crazy, great to hear that you lost 2 inches off of your waist. That’s a great accomplishment and you must be feeling a lot lighter.

    LJ, I’m avoiding added sugar as well. At the same time I’m concentrating on eating more fiber. It’s really taken the edge off the sweets craving. I didn’t realize how hungry they made me once the initial sugar rush was over. I’m much less likely to snack now. My weight has stayed around the same with a small loss after FD’s. No more 1 kg gains and losses around my FD’s. I’m feeling more relaxed too.

    We’ve had mostly lovely weather here, still getting some cooler days than is usual for this time of year. Also some humidity which is great at keeping down the fire danger. It sounds like you’ve had some really cold weather in some parts of the country. The world climate certainly seems to be changing.

    Hope you all are having lovely days there.

    Good morning all

    Crazy busy day at work today so just a quick post to say hi. Weight still hovering in the 84’s sadly. It seems 84 is the new 85 plateau

    Hope everyone had a lovely weekend. I look forward to catching up soon

    Hi all, bit of a wasted weekend. The weather was crappy so we spent most of Saturday mooching around the house, yesterday we went out to the entertainment centre so the boys could try out the VR games and my wife and I shot some pool while they were there, but the rest of the day we spent mooching around the house again. You don’t really feel like you’ve had a weekend when that happens. Hopefully the weather is better next weekend so we can get out and go for a cruise somewhere.

    I did manage to get my sit-ups done on all the days, This week I’m looking forward to seeing some friends who are in town for a while after moving to Brisbane a couple of years ago, it will be great to have a catch-up.

    Have a great day everyone

    Good Morning everyone

    It was a shocking weekend weather wise here too, so windy and cold. We went for a drive on Saturday and then yesterday OH went surfing (he said the water was cold this time) and I stayed home and cooked (and ate). Not the best weekend of eating but that is all behind me now and today is Monday FD.
    Cauliflowers were 99c each so on Friday I bought 3. I made a double batch of sweet mustard pickles for OH to have on his sandwiches and speaking of sugar, my goodness, it is full of it. I never realised how much sugar is in those spreads! I also made three jars of fermented turmeric cauliflower. They are sitting on my bench now and they have to be ‘burped’ everyday. This morning there were already bubbles so that means the fermentation has started. I made it with fresh turmeric. Thanks to Gday for the idea for that one. I can’t wait to try some and if I like it I think it will be something I will be making often. It might even replace my addiction to gherkins, well until summer when we will be growing our own again.
    Last week I made a big tray of baked crumbed cauliflower. Oooohhh now that is something I like. I think I will make some more later in the week.

    Just a quick post today as I have lots of work to do. I’m sure I will find time to check back in many times today. I’m going to need to as I am already feeling hungry and it’s only 9:45 am.

    Have a lovely day all. x

    Oh I forgot to say. I tried the MIL’s bread on Friday. I lightly toasted it and the first bite that I took had something really hard in it, hard enough to break teeth which thankfully it didn’t do. I remember she said that she had used a mix of flours in it including some walnut flour so I think the hard thing was a small piece of walnut shell. I very cautiously had a few more bites and then found another really hard piece!
    I have decided I am not going to eat anymore of it. Yes, it will be wasted but it is better than breaking my teeth! I hope my MIL isn’t reading this!!!

    Quacka, that fermented cauliflower with turmeric sounds good. Did you add anything else to it? I’m thinking just water, salt, fresh turmeric and the cauliflower. I’ve never tried anything like that before. It sounds healthy and probably has good flavor. It’s hard to imagine with the lactic acid that builds up in the ferment along with the turmeric flavor. You’ll have to let us know how it turns out.

    Neil, sorry to hear about the bad weather there for the weekend. It must have driven the kids crazy, having to be indoors. Glad you got your sit-ups in though. As you get close to your goal weight the losses can feel painfully slow, but you’ll probably notice bigger differences on a slim body. Patience is certainly a virtue while working on those last kg’s.

    Anzac, you just have to push past those 84’s. All of a sudden you’ll break loose and be heading downward again. Try low added sugars and high fiber for a week or two. It definitely has helped me to curb the hunger. I’m surprised how much it calmed that feeling of always wanting something to eat, not necessarily out of hunger, but just wanting something. it’s taken my focus off of food.

    Good afternoon.

    My FD took an unexpected detour. I had planned to spend the morning chatting with my neighbours over a cuppa at a local cafe. I ended up looking after a sniffly 5 year old who wasn’t quite well enough to go to school. Her brother started coughing when he realised his sister was going to get to stay home. His acting ability needs work, because his mother wasn’t buying his act. I tried to be really careful with frequent hand washing and keeping my hands away from my face, but we’ll see if I end up with a cold too. Despite making sure my patient had frequent drinks and snacks I managed to confine myself to several cups of tea and not ruin my FD.

    I went to the hospital to talk to a doctor in the allergy clinic this afternoon. They have decided that the best way to narrow down my cortisone allergy is to do skin tests of all the available brands. They’ll inject a couple of drops of each drug under the skin. I need to go back in September for that as they didn’t have them all on hand today.

    Neil, I think it was poor weather all round for the southern hemisphere last weekend. Luckily the only one in my house getting grumpy was me, I didn’t have to contend with bored kids.

    Quacka, what a shame about the bread. Walnuts are lovely in bread, but you do have to be really careful with the shells. If it was a walnut flour rather than walnut pieces could you suggest that your MIL sifts it before use next time – that will keep the shells out.
    I bought a cauliflower too and 2 heard of broccoli, but I plan to roast mine along with pumpkin parsnip, carrot and kale sprouts.
    I’m planning to do that in the morning so that I have lots of veggies ready to go with evening meals. I’m hoping that will help me fill up on veg rather than bread.

    Anzac, given the week you’ve had I think staying in the 84s and not ending up with a gain is still a good rsult. You had long days with poor food offered to you when you worked late and your working hours and the weather would have made it difficult to move enough to deal with any poor food choices.

    Cali, I’m a big believer in high fibre. As you mentioned it reduces sugar cravings and feeds our gut flora. For me it’s also been critical for managing IBS symptoms.

    I pulled the last serve of mung bean soup from the freezer for dinner. It was lovely, filling and warming. If the cold weather keeps up I’ll be making more.

    Hi all,

    Another fast day done, finished with a “remix” meal of several part-containers of good things from the freezer. I always used to tell PerthBoy that we were having left-overs for dinner, but apparently the in-term now is a “remix” meal. Friday will be our last fast day before we leave for our holiday next Monday.

    Thin, our storage space has got industrial, long-span shelving and everything is packed into crates/boxes and clearly labelled. Of course, when we drop-off the perch it will still all end up in skips.

    LJ, we don’t have a reader for the tapes (those things were about the size of a domestic washing machine) but PerthBoy does have all our research computers, going back to the mid-seventies, in his hoard, along with relevant drives and terminals; operating systems and compilers; manuals and program listings – a veritable technology museum in fact. So … yes we can read (our) floppy disks. See above comment re skips! I hope you have avoided the littlie’s cold germs.

    Anzac, I’m with LJ – well done on staying in the 84s, you could so easily have put on weight what with the stress, late nights and WFH days (with tempting food to hand).

    Quacka, that fermented cauliflower sounds really good. What proportion of salt to water do you use? Some fermenting recipes seem to use what seems like a lot of salt to my palate. I think I have cut the salt in half for my sauerkraut. BTW, for fermenting jars, I have found large moccona coffee jars, with the plastic ‘seal’ removed, work really well. The ferment seems to be able to burp OK. I have given up making mustard pickles because of the added sugar. However, I still succumb to a half slice of toast with home-made marmalade once a week. WOL is all about balance.

    Cali, fully agree with you re fibre. As we are eating less grains at the moment, I have had to increase the veggie fibre – legumes to the rescue.

    Cinque, are you out of the dungeon?

    Regards
    PG

    Hi all, haven’t been in touch over the weekend, just felt “blah” for a few days. Finally realised this evening that I probably overdid it last Wednesday when I dug out my cherry tree. It was an exhausting job, and the freezing cold we had here in Melbourne for the past few days FDs were totally unappealing.

    Well, never mind. I’m actually feeling better now, so back on the computer, and FDs again from tomorrow. Like Anzac65, I’m getting tired of this plateau I’ve been on for a while, but I have to persevere. Actually, I think, Anzac65, yours has continued considerably longer than mine, so I shouldn’t complain.

    LJoyce, I agree with you re crackers/ crisps, etc. I’m better off without any of them. Actually, in the past, I rarely ate crisps, it’s only something I’ve started to do over the past couple of years. I think they’re a habit I can break relatively easily now; it’s a matter of choice. Cinque, you’re right, they’re not food, just a concoction of fats and sugars designed by taste to keep people eating them!

    thin, you keep tantalising us! I don’t remember PG’s suggestion, was it a houseboat?

    PerthGirl, the weather in the SE of Australia has been COLD! I sympathise with Neilithicman, I guess the weather moved across to NZ from us. But, supposedly warmer from tomorrow. It’s helped the dams, but….
    How long will you and PB be away? I’ve forgotten – is it Bali?

    CalifDreamer, do you get your fibre from breads, or added fibre from drinks or ..? I’ve been having some protein bars in the past few days which are high in both protein and fibre, but low in carbohydrates.

    Quakka, sounds like MIL’s bread is best avoided if you don’t want a potentially expensive dental bill.

    Great to hear that RosyPosy has reached her goal weight.

    Crazyartist, great to read of your reduction in measurements. Sorry about you needing a new van, though.

    Talking about reduction in measurements, I have been buying clothes in the end of winter sales, in preparation for next winter, in smaller sizes (my optimism reigns supreme! But, why not?), most things at half price. Very pleasing.

    Catch you all next time. Way too late tonight.

    Good morning from another very cold start to the day in Sydney but leading to a pleasant 19 degrees. The freezing wind has stopped thankfully. We need some rain though

    So. I woke up today with a grim determination. No. More. Excuses. The work stress is not going away – in fact it will get worse and worse as we leadup to our big implementation in October. Yesterday they threw another big piece of scope my way and of course I dealt with it by eating badly. It’s time to get drastic and as someone with an extreme personality this is the best way to do it. I have four months; 16 weeks so more chipping away slowly. After Sundays depressing shopping trip for warm clothes in large sizes before all winter gear left the shops I realised I need to do something different.

    Watch this space friends!

    Sorry to hear about your van Crazy but well done on shrinking

    Cinque, I love to think about you getting lost in the dungeon. Hope you are feeling ok today

    Hi Thin, I was glad to hear DD is enjoying her new job and new accommodation. How lovely that she was welcomed in such a lovely manner by the village. Is she the only vet? That would be a little daunting for someone quite fresh out of uni.

    Thanks PerthGirl (and everyone) for your supportive posts. I love digging around in the freezer to find various elements that will make a nice meal. I’m forever cooking extra sauce and other bits and pieces then throwing them in the freezer nicely labelled. It was a thrill on the weekend to discover a roasted capsicum, garlic and chilli tomato sauce that I’d cooked a few weeks back that we had over pork. It was so quick after a days shopping (ugh)

    lgbran, I only started cooking a few years ago and now I love it. I used to take forever to read a recipe, get organised and then prepare it but you do get quicker and can take more short cuts as you practice. Your walks sound lovely. Oh, and yes, my football team (The Wallabies) did win thankyou. Much to do with my little (!) supporter Maxx here

    Glad you are feeling better BetsyLee

    LJ, really hope you avoid the cold germs and that your cortisone allergy gets some help

    Cali, thankyou, I am dreaming and desperate to break through and start the slippery slope DOWNWARDS. I haven’t felt this determined in months. I know you have all heard it before by this time for sure. I promise. And I keep my promises (not to myself so much but this time I will!)

    Quacks, hope your FD went well yesterday but I have no doubt that it did. My turn today

    Must run friends, chat soon

    My pic of Maxx didn’t work so I’m uploading on my phone. I think that means you might not be able to see it unless you are also on your phone.

    Such a cutie….those eyes!

    http://imgur.com/gallery/6ePg6JT

    Morning all, I was off work yesterday afternoon with another migraine so I missed my lunchtime gym session, but after dropping some pain killers and a 3 hour nap on the couch, I was feeling pretty good, so I went for an evening session.

    I have a feeling tomorrow’s weigh-in is going to be a bit of a write-off as I’ve let too much sugary and starchy foods sneak into my eating this week. I’ve been eating a bit of home baking that my youngest boy did (pear and cinnamon cake with butterscotch sauce), plenty of crackers, popcorn, and even some fish and chips. From today I’ll make a concerted effort to stick to the Mediterranean diet that I stuck to so religiously during my time on the fast 800.

    I hope everyone has a great day

    Good Morning everyone

    I’ve posted the link above to the fermented Turmeric cauliflower recipe that I used. It’s my first time doing this so I followed it pretty much exactly except that I used about 1.5 Tbsp fresh Turmeric as that is how big the piece was. I did use the bay leaves and the mustard seeds and next time I think I will experiment with some fennel seeds, coriander seeds and whatever else I can think to put in it. The good thing is I can make up one batch and then just add these flavourings individually to the jars so I can have three or four different ones out of each batch. PG I don’t mind how much salt is used as it adds flavour but also helps stop mould from growing. I am not going to be drinking the brine anyway so I figure there is probably not that much in the actual cauliflower pieces.

    Anzac, I love your faith in me with my FD’s, thank you. Yesterday was probably one of the most difficult ones that I have ever had, that I actually completed. I woke up hungry and I was hungry all day. My usual Bovril drink and my green teas just didn’t help and I even ate my Tuno and a bit of salad at about 1:30pm. I got home and made a big plate of veggies and a tiny bit of steak and I was sitting at 425 calories for the day. Still hungry. About half an hour later I had two vita wheats with vegemite and then 5 minutes later I had one more vita wheat with vegemite. This brought me to bang on 5oo calories. Honestly I could have eaten more but I just decided that was enough. I did my FD and I knew I would feel better today if I just DID it. So I did.
    I remember thin and Cali saying to me that FDs have to be non negotiable. I admired (admire) them for being able to complete their FDs no matter what and I would think to myself ” there is no way I could ever be that strong”. Well, I’ve been practising. Hopefully it gets easier, anything has to be easier than yesterday’s one!
    So, Anzac, after all my waffling above, I just want to say you have my full support. I know you can do this. Make the FD’s non negotiable. Just get through two of those a week and try to eat healthy whole foods on the other days. You will feel so much better that you are actually completing the FDs and you will love it even more when you get moving of this plateau. Good luck. We are all here for you.

    Betsy, glad you are feeling better after over doing it. That’s a great idea to buy some winter clothing now that they are on sale. I might have to go for a look at lunch time too. My size 12 jeans I bought last winter are really big on me now (I think they have stretched lol), so big that the butt is all saggy in them and my work friends tell me I need new jeans!! I love it!

    PG, that’s a great idea to use the coffee jars without the seal in them. They are a good size too.

    LJ, I hope if the MIL brings me some more bread that it doesn’t have the walnut flour in it. I know that she bought it when they were out on a trip out west so hopefully she has used it all up. She had mentioned that the nut flours were quite expensive so I feel really bad that I can’t eat the bread but it is better than cracking a tooth. Well done for completing your FD despite of the changed circumstances.

    Neil, we have all had these little hiccups on the way with our eating. It will feel so good to get back on track with your Mediterranean foods again. Sorry to hear about your migraine too but glad you are also feeling better now.

    I am on a NFD today. It’s almost 10:30 am and I have probably eaten about 400 calories already, just at a guess. I’m having a coffee now and that is going to have to get me through until lunch time.

    Anzac, I know you will do this FD successfully so I hope it goes nice and easy for you. Same for anyone else fasting too.

    All the best x

    Anzac, what a cute picture of Maxx in his Green Bay Packers scarf! (My favorite team) https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/2458/4861/products/GB-AUT-STD-S2BD-SW-SP-03_1024x1024@2x.jpg?v=1558489216
    He’s beginning to look like less like a puppy. Has he lost his baby fat?

    Good afternoon all

    So far no sign of a cold. As soo as I got home I disinfected all exposed surfaces of my body and my iphone (which Miss5 and I had been playing jigsaws on). I also made a point of breathing in eucalyptus oil vapour to get it onto the mucus membranes and into my lungs. I even slept with with some on the bedside table so would continue to breathe it through the night. Not much else I can do except eat well and get enough rest.

    Anzac, I agree with Cali, Maxx is seriously cute in his scarf. Does he leave it there or try to eat it?

    Quacka, I’m a firm believer that my jeans never lie to me – unlike my scales! Jeans are the most unforgiving garment in our wardrobe and just a kilo up or down is always noticeable. I like it when they feel roomy as I know my weight is down. If yours are too lose, it’s time to try on some size 10s – woo hoo!
    I’ve had the same day after FD. Hungry from the moment I woke up. After eating a banana I spent most of the morning convincing myself to wait until lunchtime – I made it to 11:50am.

    Neil, I hope the migraine has gone now. I find cold weather always has me craving starchy or sugary carbs so you are not alone. You’ve done so well so far I’m sure you’ll manage to get your eating into a healthier pattern.

    Betsy, digging out a fruit tree by yourself sounds like exactly the sort of thing I’d attempt. Good exercise for muscles but it can definitely leave you exhausted. Sounds like you are in the right frame of mind for getting back to 5:2 without the snack food detours. I hope you get some lovely surprises next winter when you put on those new clothes.
    Hopefully you will get better weather tomorrow. It hasn’t rained here since yesterday and although it’s still chilly, the sun has been out all morning. Adelaide’s weather usually heads east so hopefully that’s a good sign for those of you on the east coast.

    PerthGirl, you make me glad that I only have my own stuff to deal with and not a hoarding partner. I used to hang onto most things because I followed the pattern my parents set – “it might come in handy one day”. But I finally managed to let that go in my last house and started a pattern of culling my belongings every couple of years – with the help of donating, selling and a skip bin if necessary. I decided that if I hadn’t used something for 2 years it didn’t deserve space in my house. Occasionally it means I have to rebuy something (like the yoga mat), but that doesn’t happen often and it’s a lot cheaper that paying for extra storage.

    I was craving bread all morning but I just made it through until lunchtime without succumbing. Lunch did actually involve bread – 2 slices dark kibbled rye topped with pastrami and salad. That’s the absolute maximum amount of bread I’m permitting myself daily during August and I’m aiming for as many bread free days as I can manage. Dinner will be tandoori chicken leg that I marinated before freezing. That will get the airfryer treatment tonight – it does an excellent job with foods like that.
    I have prepared 2 large trays of 7 different veg ready for roasting tonight, with lots of leftovers for the rest of the week. No excuses now for not eating enough veggies with my meals! Because I bought so much cauli and broccoli I also made a pot of cauliflower-broccoli cheese soup. That will help my dwindling soup supplies in the freezer.

    Hello to everyone else who is reading.
    I must dash I have Bridge classes this afternoon – for the whole month we are learning more about what options we have after a NT bid.

    Now Cali, haven’t you been around us Aussies long enough now to know that our sporting teams wear green and gold? LOL. The Australian Rugby team beat the almighty and mostly unbeatable New Zealand All Blacks. So you can imagine the awkwardness in the Anzac household at the end of the game (tee hee).

    Maxx has lost weight and his muscle tone has improved. He is looking quite ‘buff’ these days (but I may be a tad biased. Thanks for noticing!

    LJ, I had about 10 seconds before Maxx decided the scarf was much better off him and into his mouth. Like everything. I then put it on a shelf behind a plant and he started barking at it as though it was an intruder. Sigh

    Excellent FD so far and it is 2.00pm. I have another meeting so must run

    Anzac, I see your OH has Max well trained if he thinks a Wallabies scarf is an intruder 😀
    So glad to hear you are having a good FD

    Hi all,

    Is Cinque stuck in the dungeon again?

    LJ, my rationale for keeping things is that I have paid for them, and throwing them away is akin to throwing money away. Which is why I have enough bits and bobs to furnish a second kitchen. I am getting better at giving things to the charity shops so that they can have a second life rather than moulder on my shelves in the shed. One problem is that the charity shops no longer accept electrical appliances for safety reasons so my ‘outgrown’ kitchen appliances are looking for new homes. The problem originally arose when we lived in our caravan when we were working interstate as consultants and essential appliances were replicated in the caravan.

    BetsyLee, my question to Thin was ‘did her new life involve water?’ – nothing more specific than that. We are off for a 2 week cruise around Japan, then we will be home for five days before heading off to Portugal and Spain for a 300km walk along the Camino de Santiago. BTW – why does cold weather put you off fasting? I love the idea of hot soups, veggie casseroles etc to keep the cold weather at bay and, from time spent in Norway in winter, I do know what cold weather is like (which is my I live in WA).

    Anzac, I’m not a doggie person but Maxx is definitely cute. I do think you will have to plan for the stressful weeks ahead so that the stress does not derail your good intentions. Can you identify some nice, but good, things to have on hand when you need to stress-eat? In our lives, when we are not on holiday, FDs are non-negotiable. Once we accepted that, over time, we stopped even thinking about them as fast days, we just don’t eat breakfast or lunch on those days. After 2 ½ years I can even batch cook on fast days without being tempted. And, wow … I’m impressed! You label things in your freezer, ours is a lucky dip.

    Quacka, thank you for the link. I will follow the recipe exactly as you have done to start with. Could you turn the walnut shell bread into breadcrumbs, pick out any large bits of shell and use it that way?

    Neil, it’s probably the right time now to think about how you will define your future WOL. Coming off Fast800 mediterranean was essentially like ‘coming off a diet’. Research shows that it is ‘coming off a diet and returning to previous eating habits’ that causes weight loss trends to reverse. So now might be the time to decide how popcorn, crackers and home made cake will fit into your WOL – perhaps by rationing them as occasional treats, or having a small portion on one day a week. Sorry, tough love 🙂 but I am speaking from experience as well. Is there any temporal link between your migraines and eating bigger quantities of high-carb, low GI foods like crackers and cake?

    Regards to all
    PG
    “You are what you eat, so don’t be fast, cheap, easy, or fake.”

    That’s alright, the loss to the wallabies pretty much guarantees the all blacks will take out the World Cup. We’ve lost the rugby championship before both our World Cup wins in 2011 and 2015. It must give them a wake-up call or something. Looking forward to turning the tables at Eden park next week to retain the Bledisloe cup and then lifting the Webb Ellis trophy in a couple of months time 😉

    Seriously though, I think this will be one of the closest world cups. I wouldn’t be surprised if any of several teams win, Ireland, Wales, England, South Africa, Australia or New Zealand.

    I had a big fast day today, I only ate an onion and mushroom omelette today apart from a couple of coffees, all ready for weigh in tomorrow morning.

    Perth girl, our posts crossed. I intended to continue with a Mediterranean style diet but just upping calories to a normal amount on non fast days. On the whole, I have been mostly doing that. The problem is that once I get a taste of sugary food or salty starchy snacks, I find it really hard to stop eating. The last two weekends have been particularly bad for this, which is why I’m trying a reset this week. I’ll try sticking to the Mediterranean diet until I reach goal weight and then try to re-introduce some starch or sugar as an occasional treat, but I’ll have to be very careful.

    My migraines seem to be more stress related, my last one came after a particularly heavy workload for a few weeks, and this one popped up after I had spent 30 minutes working on one document as my computer froze 3 times in a row trying to process it and required a full restart while the incoming work kept flooding in

    Good evening SHs

    PG, another excellent quote.
    I used to hang onto everything. The thing that helped was younger relatives setting up house to whom I could donate lots of household items. I had trouble throwing things out, but if I could find it a good home to go to then I felt much better about letting things go.

    Neil, Sounds like you had an excellent FD.
    I used to have similar issues when I was working – long periods at the computer caused issues. For me the stress would cause tightness in my neck which then led to a migraine. I think it’s because I start to physically get tense when I’m stressed. I found a physio who helped manage the neck tightness which reduced the frequency of migraines for me.

    My NFD dinner was delicious and I have now piled all the leftover roasted veg into one big tray. https://imgur.com/a/hSjMhB1 It will save me a lot of preparation time over the next few days and make sure I eat plenty of veg. I don’t think the photo does it justice – the colours are a bit more vibrant in real life.

    I really felt like dessert tonight, despite eating a very generously sized plate of dinner. I walked myself to the fruit and removed a small jazz apple (my favourite variety) and decided to content myself with that.

    I did a post earlier but it disappeared.

    Weigh-in and I’m down 1.2 kilos to 96.0! I’m past my mini goal of 35 kilos total weight lost and only 1 kilo away from my next mini goal, my wedding weight of 95 kilos, which will also be 5 kilos from my ultimate goal weight of 90 kilos.

    I’m hoping to be 95 by the end of August, 92.5 by the end of September, and my goal of 90 kilos (or 89.9 just so I can say I’m in the 80s) by my birthday at the end of October. But of course I’ll take anything that’s moving in the right direction.

    I’m still going to try to eat the Mediterranean diet more strictly this week and balance it out by easing off on the intensity at the gym. I’ve been hitting it pretty hard recently to make up for the junk that I’ve been eating. I’m upping the situps to 75 a day this week so that will be a challenge enough, it seems to be working because my waist is down 5 centimeters since the beginning of August, I’m onto the last notch on my new belt.

    I hope everyone has a great day and I’ll catch up with all of you later.

    Good morning,

    haha, Wizard101 dungeons are much more fun than being stuck in a doctors waiting room for a couple of hours on Monday. (Got an early appt so it would be quick, but too early, I need time in the morning to get myself going, and then I had to wait to get blood tests done). And then I have done more baby sitting, two sick grandchildren at the moment and I don’t think I have been nearly as effective as LJoyce in sterilising everything, but I am okay so far, just normal level of tired and slow 😉

    FAST DAY Today. Hooray. I have made another pot of delicious dashi, so I am hanging out for my miso soup tonight.

    Cali, yay for fibre instead of sugar. Don’t our bodies approve. And so many delicious veggies to eat!

    No lovely days yet, thanks, but Friday is looking gorgeous.

    Anzac, 84 is a much lovelier plateau than 85, and 83 will be even better. Sending good wishes for today and hooray for your determination. All power to you. It is a marathon of stress with your work, so putting in whatever structures you need to cope with it is SO good.
    Maxx is looking so healthy and svelte! Wonderful.

    Neil, aren’t those situps paying off! Go the Mediterranean diet (especially with Indian recipes) and forget that rubbish food that makes you feel disappointed later. This weekend will be more fun! No migraines, I hope, and enjoy those Brisbane friends!

    Ooh Quacka how are the fermented cauliflower going? I want to try some too.
    Oh dear re the walnut bread.

    LJoyce, similar story! My daughter was trying to get panadol into sick Miss 4, but she hates the taste. Miss 2 was coughing and sniffing as hard as she could in the background, as she likes it. So funny. But then Miss 2 really got sick while she was with me yesterday. Hoping my daughter manages not to get it. And me.

    I do hope they sort out your cortisone allergy nicely, once they get the drops in.

    Perthgirl, thanks for asking after me. I am very much looking forward to more dungeons 😉 , reward for getting things done this morning maybe.

    Betsy what a long hard run of things you have been having. Isn’t it a relief to see some magnolia trees in flower, blossom and Cootamundra wattle. My sister even saw daphne out. Warmer weather must be on the way, and maybe that will give you your zip back.
    At least you have been able to do some lovely clothes shopping! Won’t you love getting into them.

    Ooh nearly 9 o’clock. Cheers all. Hi Klondi!

    Good morning everyone

    It’s FD for me today and I am going to be having Miso soup for dinner too, Cinque. Yummy.
    I had a bit of a feast day yesterday. It was all healthy food (well if you can count Hazelnut and Cacao Smooshed balls as healthy) but it was just too much of it. I probably had about 2000 calories I’m guessing but the strange thing is I didn’t even feel stuffed! I could have eaten more but I was very aware of how much I had already had. I expected the scales to reflect this today but instead they showed a 200g loss. I’m curious what the number will be tomorrow after FD.

    Well done on reaching your goals Neil, it’s really lovely to hear all about it. You have done really well and I agree the Mediterranean diet is the way to go. It’s also very delicious!

    PG, I had thought about using the bread as breadcrumbs but the hard pieces are so small that the crumbs would make them all blend in. I could feel it all by hand I suppose (like when making fish cakes from fresh fish I always put all the fish through my fingers first to make sure I have got all the bones out) but I would still be worried.
    It reminds me of another time I unexpectedly found hard things in my food. I had made a batch of Tamarillo chutney from a crop from our new Tamarillo tree. It was quite a lot of work and the chutney was actually quite yummy. As I tasted it I found a really hard piece of something in it. I checked the rest of the chutney and it was full of these small hard things, hard like stones. I had to look it up on the internet, but apparently the old varieties of Tamarillo can have these hard little things in them but the new varieties have had it bred out of them. I ended up using the chutney in curries but had to push it through a very fine sieve so all I got was a little bit of sauce really. At least it was not all wasted but it was a big disappointment.

    The fermented cauliflower is going well. It’s day four today so I think it should be ready. It smells ready! lol. I almost tasted some this morning when I burped it but then I remembered what day it was. I’m sure I will try some tonight when my Miso soup is cooking. I’ll let you know 🙂

    Cinque and LJ, I hope you manage to stay healthy despite looking after sick kidlets.

    Here’s wishing us fasters a nice easy one and some good results on the scales tomorrow. Have a lovely day all x

    Neil, well done!

    That’s not so slow, and the 5cm waist is excellent – fat going, muscles growing. You will make your goals if you stick with revised TDEE on NFDs and ensure that you are eating enough proteins (for 95kg about 95g of actual protein, not protein food weight) to support your exercise regime.

    We have done really well on Med diet since about 2001 – not much red meat, and ours does not include white pasta, although now we do occasionally eat the Barilla chickpea flour and red lentil flour pastas in small quantities.

    Regards, PG

    Good morning everyone.

    So far so good – no sniffles. I’m still inhaling eucalyptus just in case it helps.

    I have a rare day at home with nothing on the agenda except all the housework that’s been piling up. I especially need to catch up on washing clothes and floors.
    I also need to get some serious walking done today as I only managed about 3500 on each of the last 2 days. Although the clouds rolled in again yesterday afternoon there was no more rain and today is sunny. I hope some of this fine weather reaches those of you in the east today.

    Another NFD for me. This week I’ll be fasting Friday as my bridge partner is going away for the weekend so we can play Friday. We will probably play tomorrow morning – also a supervised session but a much bigger group. I prefer not to play Tuesdays as I have to rush straight from bridge to babysitting and it makes for a very exhausting day.

    Did anyone see the Catalyst program last night – very interesting. It looked at exercise and diet for aging well. They mentioned 5:2 but specifically focusing on eating mostly non starchy veg on the fast days. It’s probably available on iview but ABC1 is replaying it this Saturday mid-afternoon.

    Neil congratulations on getting to your next goal.
    Hello to everyone else.

    Must get going, chores await.

    I’ve been meaning to ask. What do you eat the fermented cauliflower with? Do you eat it by itself as a snack, have it as a side with other dishes, or use it as an ingredient when cooking another dish?

    I’m playing catchup again, so apologies first up to anyone I’ll miss. I started to write this on Monday and just getting back to it now – it’s been that sort of week.

    Neil congratulations on such an outstanding weight loss and the good health that comes with it . Imagine, soon being in the 80s again. Wonderful testament to your commitment to this WOL.

    Cinque, hope you are feeling well and the littlies’ cold bugs don’t head your way.

    Oh my goodness Anzac that Maxx is a sweetie. That expression! (and 84 is OK – I remember when you were miserable that you couldn’t break 85. You are on your way down which is the best direction of all. (I on the other hand am locked right on where I was too too long ago …not putting on, not taking off, and not able to kick myself in the backside to lose those kilos I wanted to before we head O/S in the first week of October…and only myself to blame).

    Thanks LJ for the heads up about Catalyst. I missed it but will set the recorder for Saturday.

    Thanks too Quacka for the link to the fermented cauliflower. I visited an op shop last Friday and bought a dozen preserving bottles …just small ones, that I thought would be good when the girls finally are prepared to let go of some honey. I could use them for the cauli, in the meantime.

    Perth re electrical goods …. our local church supports a lot of refugee families and accept electrical goods – well, a fridge we wanted to give away because it was too big for our needs. Worth a thought?

    Mr 4 turned 5 at the weekend and we celebrated with a family picnic in the park. We are so lucky with wonderful families and many cousins with small children around the same age (did I mention before my SIL and DIL are cousins?). A lovely day with a triumph of a birthday cake. He requested a skeleton, pokomon, dinosaur cake, and full marks to DIL’s cake decorating skills, she somehow achieved it.

    We’re in the throes of school/kindy pickups while DD does her prac teaching (she’s doing a Masters in Education, part-time) It’s a bit of a juggle with OH walking the Grade Oner to school while I drop Miss 3 off to kindy, before I shoot off to work too. She such an enchanting little fairy of a child, but full of the business. After our op-shop outing on Friday, we went to a coffee shop. Clearly she was up for more. ‘Baba, after we have our cake, can we go to China?” Mmmm, maybe not today!

    OK of to clean out the fridge. I’m growing mulch where my vege crispers should be!

    Hello to all I’ve missed – PG, Thin, Cali, Crazy. Are you around Intesha – hope you are doing OK.

    (Apologies if I post this twice …..the first time it disappeared but I’d copied it so I’ll try again)

    Neil, I’m not too sure how others would eat the fermented cauliflower but I am going to eat it as a snack (like on FDs when I get home from work, starving, and am waiting for my dinner to be ready) and probably also as an addition to my plate if we are having salad. I do the same with Kimchi.
    I usually have a couple of gherkins when I get home on FD’s. It just helps me get through to dinner. OH laughs at me – he reckons the world might run out of gherkins soon!

    Read this (about Doritos) and thought of Betsy’s soy honey crackers:

    “They’ve been engineered so you never feel like you’ve had enough. Here’s why:

    The chips have the powerful savory flavor known as umami, and also what Mr. Witherly calls “long hang-time flavors” like garlic that create a lingering smell that stimulates memories.

    The recipe balances these powerful tastes so well that no single flavor overpowers and lingers in the mind after you’ve eaten a chip. This avoids what scientists call “sensory specific satiety” or the feeling of fullness caused by a dominant flavor.

    You wouldn’t eat a whole bag of rosemary chips, would you? But you keep coming back for more and more nacho cheese Doritos.

    Two acids – lactic and citric, get the saliva flowing – which triggers the impulse to eat. Another ingredient, buttermilk, delivers even more lactic acid.

    Dorito dust has even more impact if you lick it right from your fingertips without the chip to dilute it.

    To maximize the pleasure, half of the calories in Doritos come from fat. With that ratio, it feels like the chip melts on your mouth and your brain is tricked into thinking the calories have vanished too. This is called “vanishing caloric density” and it comes with cotton candy too, for example.

    To boot, there’s the three artificial colorings which research shows consumers are attracted to.

    And the blend of ingredients is ground so finely (one of the finest grinds in food processing in fact) that the powder fills every nook and cranny of your mouth.”

    Good evening

    I manged over 10000 steps today – which has helped compensate for my poor total over the last 2 days. I decided to try to walk about an hour despite the niggling ache in my back. I headed off for the green reserve area I showed you all photos of a week or so ago. I explored further north and discovered a real wetlands are, complete with a boardwalk and masses of birds. I found this photo of it online https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/Oaklands+Wetland+and+Reserve/@-34.99872,138.547343,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m8!1e2!3m6!1sAF1QipO3GAIF7QRwQYafo3OAXo0fS3ZqxC5F2gSCysuR!2e10!3e12!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipO3GAIF7QRwQYafo3OAXo0fS3ZqxC5F2gSCysuR%3Dw203-h114-k-no!7i3992!8i2242!4m5!3m4!1s0x6ab0da8fbf3fd62b:0x2113cfb4ae118124!8m2!3d-34.99872!4d138.547343 I’m still in shock that I can walk to this in the middle of a densely populated urban area. I’m now wondering what else I’ll find if I keep exploring.

    Cinque, you are making doritos sound really appealing – not!

    Quack, there’s actually a real benefit in eating something with a vinegary flavour. It’s especially useful if you are craving something sweet. Try enjoying it with the taste of vinegar in your mouth. I use a pickled onion to stop myself when I have sweet cravings.

    Lindsay, the birthday picnic sounds lovely. It also sounds like you have had a very busy week.

    Time for an early night. I’m playing bridge in the morning.

    Hi all, haven’t done well on the eating front, but 3-day conference from tomorrow will get me out of the house and away from available food.

    Cinque, interesting post about Doritos. I’m sure all other crisps are the same. Actually, I had a victory yesterday. Yes, I did buy THOSE crackers again, plus some honey soy crisps. But, I didn’t eat all the crackers – got to the point where I thought, yuck, I’ve had enough and threw the rest out, plus I went to the cupboard, took out the crisps packet, crushed all the chips and binned them. I think I’ve finally reached the point of “I don’t like these any more”. From tomorrow, like Anzac65, I’m taking serious action to break this plateau/ lazy point.

    Actually, something I’m finding odd – whenever I think of my weight, I still automatically think 80-something, then have to correct my thinking and say no, it’s 70-something, i.e., 10 kg lighter. I’m looking forward to being in the 60-somethings and having to do that to the thought of being in the 70-somethings! 🙂

    Speaking of weight loss – neilithicman, you are an inspiration with your determination and degree of weight loss. Well done you (even if the All Blacks did lose! 🙂 ).

    Yes, hurrah, the weather is finally warming up again a bit. PG, you asked why I have trouble fasting in the winter – because I shiver so much with the cold when I fast, even with lots of clothes on, in winter. In summer, I love it, as it keeps me cooler in the heat.

    LJoyce, good luck with the bridge tomorrow. Hope you do well.

    LindsayL, our church has a small “op shop”, but for clothing only. If I have electrical goods to dispose of, I try to ask around everyone I know to see if someone can use it. For white goods, there’s an organisation, in Melbourne anyway, called “Kids on the Curb” – they pick up any whitegoods, repair them, sell them, or recycle them, and the money is used to help disadvantaged? homeless? youth. The council now has banned electrical goods in the waste bin, and there’s a specific recycle place for old TVs, microwaves, etc. as they have some very valuable components that can be salvaged.

    Anzac65, loved the photo of Maxx. He is definitely becoming less puppy-like.

    Cinque and LJoyce, hope you both stay healthy, with all the contact you’re having with sick grandkids, etc.

    Okay, need to go. Have to be up earlier than usual tomorrow, as the conference is about an hour’s drive away. Keep on losing, friends!

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