Good evening everyone. Lovely to read your posts. Now they’re on the last page, but I’ll try to respond.

Penguin, good luck with the house selling. You had mentioned a smaller house you’d found – is that the one you’re hoping to buy? Hope the new form of chemo doesn’t knock you about too much.

LindsayL, good that OH’s leg/foot is being treated so he’ll enjoy your visit to the island. Wonderful that you can finally go there and stay, not just do a day trip.

Anzac65, this coming week is a new one, you’ll do better.

Neilithicman, well done you for supporting your local businesses. I’m also trying to do that.

LJoyce, lovely that you can be back into some of your child-sitting routine, and to know that you were missed.
Good that the protein idea has been working. I wasn’t necessarily meaning adding more at lunchtime, just adding more to the diet, but if at lunchtime works, great.

Re eating the main meal at lunchtime, I think thin is right – it became a habit here in Australia to eat the main meal at night simply because that’s when the parents are home from work and children home from school. On Sundays we used to have a big Sunday lunch – a roast – then my mother would cook fresh scones for us to eat around 3:30-4 p.m., which would be the evening meal, and no-one ever complained about being hungry in the evening.
Thinking of my father, he used to get “meals on wheels” Monday to Friday. He’d eat the main meal at lunchtime and have the soup with toast for dinner. Maybe it’s something I need to consider? I find though that the later in the day I start to eat, the less I eat overall, so maybe not while I’m trying to lose. Possibly once I reach maintenance?

Speaking of which, though still a long way to go, there are major changes for me already. I’ve lost more than 4 inches from both bust and waist, and 5 inches off the hips already. One pair of jeans bought a couple of months ago now has to be worn with a belt as it’s otherwise too loose. So, good progress. Now is the time when I have to be careful to not lose my mojo. Down 0.6 kg so far this month already, so here’s hoping it’s sustainable.

Cinque and LindsayL, my more usual weight loss is about 0.6 kg/week, but I always hope and aim for more. Sometimes it happens – if I’m extra careful.

Cinque, lovely flowers for penguin. Great you could have friends visit – oops for the hug, but I’m sure just once isn’t going to harm social distancing.
Not sure what will happen after all the demonstrations today – hope there’s not a new wave of Covid-19 as a result, though that is less likely here than in a lot of other countries.

Thanks for the comments re the plumbing. No more news on that until later next week. I know it will still be expensive, but I’m hoping less than the $10,000 that was initially mentioned.

Keep well, keep safe all.

Good morning from a chilly but sunny Brisbane. 24 max today, but only 10 currently. The front and back glass doors are open so Rosy can run through, taking her rather large bone back and forth from the courtyard to the back terrace. So busy. I don’t know how we’ll manage once winter really kicks in.

We had a lovely picnic with my brothers and SILs. And another return to normal yesterday, with my eldest grandchild’s seventh birthday party. It’s the first time we’ve been to my DD’s house (indoors, anyway) and it was perfect. Just the 10 of us …my son and his wife and two kids too. Then my DD did another afternoon event for my son in law’s family.

LJ sounds like your little ones really missed having you to sit. I think a lot of kids (and parents) felt like that about home schooling.

I would love to swing our main meal to lunch-time instead of dinner. I am always really hungry during the day, but could happily miss dinner. OH though is the opposite, and likes the ritual of the evening meal.

Cinque thank you for the congratulations. I fear maintenance is a long way off. I’m a tortoise unfortunately. Glad your feet are so much better. OH’s too. Off to the island Tuesday. Part of his problem is he’s shortened his gait because of his eyesight, which put other bits out. The myotherapist is helping release leg muscles and tendons, so he’ll be able now to stride along the beach, tripping over nothing more troubling than the odd shell and piece of driftwood.

Dietwise, I have him on cherry juice (which is meant to help with uric acid), cider vinegar with the mother (ditto), and tumeric with pepper. He dutifully takes it all. Whether he’ll remain committed when the episode passes is another matter.

Oh Anzac. Don’t be down. we are works in progress. The important thing is, we are trying. Think how things would have been had we not found this way of life.

Penguin it was good to read your post. I hope the new treatment is okay for you. We will be pleased to hear how you are, when you are able to post again.

Neil, what a lovely day you described. Good to support the local businesses too, and get real food from local producers.

More Covid worries in Queensland today, with the news that a man flew from Melbourne to Brisbane, engaged with 15 odd people, then flew to Bundaberg to pick fruit, sharing lodgings with 4 others, while Covid positive. I am not sure how he got through the closed Queensland border, but there you are. Now the tracing of contacts is going on full steam. I suspect a large number of people who went to the marches yesterday did so confident that there’d been no cases for such a while. Even our GP earlier in the week was saying that with he border still closed and no new cases, our chances of catching Covid were about the same as winning the lottery.

On to more cheerful matters – Betsy, way to go! Great to see such positive results. How nice to need a belt.

Now, off to weigh my native bee hive, to make sure it’s ready to split. I’ve had an order in for a hive for my son for his birthday, but there’s a very long waiting list for bees, so the entomologist offered to split my hive tomorrow, if it’s reached the right weight and it’s warm enough.

Enjoy your Sunday all….and tomorrow, for those lucky ducks who are celebrating the Queen’s birthday with a day off.

Good afternoon all. Just checking in after church online this morning. I do miss meeting with my church friends, but it is what it is at the moment.

Yes thin, very concerned about the protests. Very true, black lives do matter, as do yellow lives, brown lives and white lives, but here in Australia, the authorities have been so careful to protect the indigenous communities, and now they’re joining in the protests so we can only pray there won’t be outbreaks of the virus among the most vulnerable.

LindsayL, wonderful that you could meet with family for a picnic. Enjoy the island from Tuesday, and I hope OH is able to enjoy striding out without the gout restricting his movement.
I’m a bit surprised that you may be splitting the hive at the start of winter, rather than waiting till the weather warms again. Is that usually the best time? Will there be a queen available to care for the new hive? I can’t remember my father splitting hives (though I’m sure he did), so don’t know the process.

Cinque, enjoy your miso soup. Great that yesterday was easier for you. Your clothes will be less snug in no time.

Re my weight, this is around the weight I choked on, last time I lost weight (in 2009?), and then it gradually went back on again, so I’m really concerned. I have to get past the next 2 kilos down, then I’ll know I’ve broken through my choking weight.
Please be patient with me if I seem to be obsessing about every 0.1 kilo over the next few weeks.

Enjoy the public holiday, for those in the states celebrating Queen’s birthday.

Stay safe, stay well.

Lindsay, I’d have the same trouble with OH if switching the main meals around. Back when we had pub lunches, I always be stuffed for the rest of the day but he’d be looking for the usual meal at dinner time. Have a great time at the island. All the best with the bees, don’t forget the Queen’s birthday!

Betsy, you can do this. I have every confidence in you. You’re in a different mindset this time. Looking forward to hearing about it, inch by inch. Protests – sheer stupidity, marching headlong into a pandemic, we’re supposed to be the intelligent species. Over seventies’ lives apparently don’t matter.

Lindsay, no doubt the risk was minimal for Australians but, here in Britain, the media is banging on relentlessly about how the govt. is easing lock-down too early and then, wrt to the protests held in many major cities yesterday, the BBC reports, “It’s a tricky one because there’s no specific regulation stating that people can’t protest”. Conveniently ignoring the law stating that no more than six people may gather outside when it suits the story. No mention of the vast numbers than must have been taking public transport unnecessarily putting those workers at risk. Irresponsible and selfish IMHO.

OK, back to fasting. I’m having chorizo and kale soup which sounded calorific until I noticed that it serves six. 157 calories. OH can have a double portion with potatoes and I’ll freeze the other half for another FD.

Cinque, you’re on track and sounding great. Enjoy the soup. No we haven’t tackled the aqueduct and the wind is still blowing. Not that we can get blown off, we just don’t fancy it. I’m looking forward to seeing the blokey flowers.

My rooftop garden is coming on slowly. Unfortunately, an unexpected frost a few weeks back claimed the hydrangea’s deep pink flowers but it’s slowly recovering. The lettuce, tomato and chili seedlings are coming on but they’re in no hurry (thanks for the suggestion Neil). https://imgur.com/dEjM4m9

Lindsay, I understood and agreed with you. Different circumstances here altogether. Unfortunately, it’s the very person who doesn’t think SD is important, who’s the most likely to pass the virus on. I take the view that everyone has it.

Good morning, cold again here, but they promise we will see the sun tomorrow.

Betsy, do obsess. 🙂 Daily and in detail. It is the whole point of this forum.
All the other stuff is precious but 5:2 is what we are here for.

Four weeks along and you will have broken through that 2kg stress point, I am betting on it! You will be so annoyed that you have to give away your new jeans.

Cali, so glad you made time to post, good idea to do it before all that reading! Hooray for a kilo or two! It hasn’t been easy with all the stress, but you are doing it! https://i.pinimg.com/originals/ba/ee/7d/baee7d789ce0a5724025683d7eb99ce1.png Onwards and downwards!

Lindsay, Mr L is definitely a keeper. I do hope Rosy enjoyed the new dog park and that the beeman is delighted with your hives today.

Thin, such a pretty garden! So glad you don’t have to go over the aqueduct until the weather makes it a better experience.
Haha yes, I hope google is accommodating when I go looking for Penguin’s next bunch of flowers.

Ooh that chorizo and kale soup sounds good!

I made a great miso soup yesterday with all sorts of dried fungus and seaweed in it! Nice to finally have yuba again (dried beancurd). Ofcourse, I bought a different brand of white fungus and it didn’t stay as crisp, but I won’t soak it as long next time.

It was a good fasty fast day but Oh dear! didn’t my tummy rumble when I was watching the Masterchef contestants make pies and sauce! My miso soup seemed a thin and distant past, even though I had just finished it.

But I’ve had a nice early breakfast and I’m getting excited about the lovely sensible food I will eat today! Roast veggies and sausage for lunch, with a green salad, roasted almonds sprinkled over. And I’m on to my second container of celery soup, I’ll make okonomiyaki to accompany it!

Hope those of you fasting today just skipped over that food listing paragraph, haha. Have a great day. It is so good to be thinner and healthier!

Cheers.

Afternoon all. A pleasant sunny day in Brisbane, and I popped over to see my friend who’s just had back surgery. My first Covid outing to another’s home…well, second if we count Miss 7’s birthday party last Saturday.

OH and I have just come back from the myotherapist – he is having his foot and leg seen to, and I’m having the early bursitis twinges dealt with. My lovely therapist made the point that my shoulders were tight as a drum. I don’t know why … I seem to be a bit stressed and tearful lately, and I’m not sleeping at all well. Part of it is waiting for OH to get up and quickly flicking the fitbit light to guide him. I’ll be happier when he is a bit more stable on his feet. His ankle gives way on him sometimes, which his therapist says will improve with treatment.

No joy with the beeman today – I call him that because I often get etymologist and etomologist confused … and while he is very articulate, I don’t need a language consultation. So, my hive is too light to be divided. It needs to be 7.5 kilos minimum, to make sure they get through winter in good condition. I have now ordered a hive and colony and we will just have to wait til mother nature is ready.

My other 40th birthday gift is also on hold, waiting waiting waiting. My son is a wonderful cook, so after watching an old episode of River Cottate Australia and seeing the local blacksmith craft a knife for the presenter, I finally found them to ask them to do the same for my son. Not just yet, was the answer. The region (central NSW) had been hit hard by the bushfires, and the blacksmith is busy rebuilding. Still, it will be beautiful, and special, and worth waiting for. Expensive, too, but handcrafted beautifully, and I never begrudge a craftsman making a good living.

My girlfriend and I had a good chat about the difficulty of dieting during these covid tines. It seems to be a common thread, that many of us are finding our usual routines more difficult to get back into. It resonated with me, anyway.

So, for all of us who are doing really well, and the others who are doing well but with difficulty, and my crowd, who can’t seem to get it together…as Merry would say, onwards and upwards.

Evening all.

I agree with Lindsay Betsy, obsess away, we’ve all been in the same boat and we’re her for support, both cheerleading success and commiserating slips.

Looks like there are a few doing well and moving in the right direction, congrats Cali and Betsy on your recent losses.

Thin, great to hear your plants are coming along well. If you can find an old window or some clear polythene you might be able to rig up a little lean-to cloche to keep any pesky frosts off

I had a good weekend. My wife and I went out to play pool for a while and then out to Carey’s Bay Hotel for dinner by the harbour. It was a lovely meal, but after a plate of salt and pepper squid, big bowl of seafood chowder, pavlova for dessert, and a couple of drinks, I certainly needed my gym session today. I continue to improve in my running, today I managed 7.9 kilometres in my 45 minutes, average speed 10.6 kph and the longest continuous period of running during the 45 minutes was 30 minutes.

Well I’ll have a control day today and then weigh-in on Wednesday morning. Hopefully I’ll be able to shake that 700 grams I picked up last week.

Have a great one everyone.

Good morning friends, sunny but cool today in Sydney

So after a disastrous week last week that pushed me back into the 90’s I have finally realised that the only thing that has ever worked is to do 2 proper FD’s every week. Starting today. Wish me luck!

I haven’t had a chance to catch up on posts but hope to do so today

I have a small thai beef salad waiting for my late lunch and a turkey mince & vege bolognaise in lettuce cups for dinner

We went out for lunch with friends on Sunday for my friend’s 60th. It was heavenly to do something so normal; but also a bit scary to be out in the big wide world. There were photo’s and I was shocked and horrified at how I look 🙁 thus prompting the new motivation. Also OH mentioned the weight gain which is not like him so even more motivation

We are planning our family reunion on the 18th or 19th July and this gives me a 6 week target to get close to the 84 that I was in December. I need to lose 7 kilos which might be a stretch but if I even lose half of that I will be happy. Ish. Then downwards towards the 70’s 🙂

Sorry, this is all about me but I will catch up soon, I promise!

Busy day yesterday, two trips to the hospital. Blood test in the morning, biopsy in the afternoon. There had to be at least two hours between them and because of Covid you can’t hang around the hospital or have anyone go in with you. The Covid precautions are really affecting what they can do. The rate at which they can handle patients is about a quarter the normal.

Before I began the first chemo I asked the the team dealing with my cancer about fasting before the treatment. The answer was that there has been some research in that area, but it depends – what kind of cancer, where it is, what kind of chemo, who is treating you.

Now to enter a current conversation I am more certain about. Until I had this problem I didn’t eat breakfast and I went to the gym in the morning. I didn’t have any energy problems. The reading I did suggested that exercising in a fasting condition compels the body to burn fat because there is no readily available alternative. It was also my habit to have a two or three day total fast once a month and I continued to exercise whilst doing this. Now I find I am a slow starter and I do need breakfast so I take my exercise late afternoon.

Thin, with you on your thoughts about the demos. I am more than willing to accept that there are social injustices in this country but statements like “the dangers of injustice are greater than the dangers of Covid so we must crowd together and cause damage” do nothing to keep me on side.

Good evening all. So many posts since I last checked in – it’s taken me about an hour to catch up.

LindsayL, Okay, the native bees, not the honey bees. Got it. Seems like a further wait, as the bees have to have enough honey to survive the winter.
Hope the new park was a good one for Rosy to run in.
Good that OH and you have had some helpful treatment of your stiffness and his pain.
That knife idea sounds wonderful, even if you do have to wait for it.

Thin, loved the photo – very healthy looking plants. Will you stay where you are until there is little wind before tackling the aqueduct (do you have to book the transit?)?

Penguin, hope the test results come back promptly. Re the fasting, if they haven’t told you a straight “no”, sounds like you could trial it for yourself and see how you go. One time would be enough for you to know if it’s tolerable and/or helpful. They might even give you permission to try, if you ask.

Anzac65, down, down down she goes! Yes, you can do this. I’ll be rooting for you.

CalifDreamer, I hope there is a continued settling of the protests over the next week. Like you, I’m hoping there will be no “second wave” of Covid-19 infections as a result of the marches. Here in Australia, there was at least an attempt at social distancing, plus hand sanitiser being handed out, but it seems from the TV reports that people were still very close together. The next 2 weeks will reveal all. Meanwhile, stay safe and well, and well done you in showing a weight decrease!

LJoyce, be careful that you’re not making your food restrictions into an overall low-cal diet. The idea of 5:2, with some normal eating days in the week, is that your overall metabolic rate doesn’t go down too much. From my reading, once that happens, it tends to stay low, making further weight loss that much harder. Fasting plus TDEE days, though slower, should maintain the BMR.
Of course, sorry, I’m “preaching to the choir” here, as you know and have successfully done 5:2 for much longer than me. I’m just concerned, that’s all.

Cinque, like you I’m praying they find that autistic boy soon; I’m very concerned for his welfare. If he’s not found after another night ….. ?
You make some wonderful soups – very impressed. Mine? Packet soups, or not at all.

Neilithicman, what a lovely “date” time with your wife. And hopefully you’ve run off the excess 700 gms today.

Me? Just coasting along. I gained some with an over-indulgent Sunday, lost some yesterday, and hopefully after today will be back where I was on Saturday morning. Then I have a few days to try to be under the dreaded 70 kg. As I wrote before, I choked at 69 kg in 2009, so need to be 68 kg and heading downwards before I’ll “relax” my concern. A few unnecessary “goodies” are now in a plastic container at the top of my food cupboard, to be “untouchable” for the next few weeks (I hope! 🙂 ).

Stay safe, stay well everyone.

Morning all

Good luck for your results Penguin, hopefully you get the outcome you’re hoping for. I agree about the protests. There were protests over here too and they were widely condemned because we were so close to being covid free at the time and they were risking undoing all the hard work the country has been going through the last 10 weeks.

Good luck on the last few kilos Betsy, I’m sure you’ll blow your target out of the water.

Gday, congrats on the loss and the new recumbent exercise bike. I still want to get a recumbent tricycle at some stage to add to my regular bike, but I’m going to have to wait until I can find a cheap second hand one, or our finances are a bit better.

Unfortunately I saw no movement on the scales this week. I’m still sitting at 90.7 kilograms. I know that I’m thinner than I was and have a bit more muscle, but I felt more comfortable when I was sitting around 87 kilos. Hopefully I can eventually work my way back to there by the end of the year.

Good morning,
Another frosty morning, even in my little carbon sink.

Anzac, I think you are exactly right. Those two fast days a week have to be the priority to work well. It seems only rarely I can make them an easy part of normal life. Generally, if I am going to have a good fast day, it has to be top of the list, with capital letters and underlining. Luckily it is only twice a week.

Having a target is great, you will really notice being 6 kg down, if not 7.

LJoyce, what a brilliant trick with the flat bread. I have written it in my recipe book so I will keep reminding myself of it. There are so many things I would use them for: including with a soup like the one you just made! Ooh what a yummy soup.

Congratulations on making it through your 500cal day. I’m having one of them tomorrow.

Penguin, glad the test day is over. I’m thinking that when you wake up it will be your Wednesday treatment day, so here are some flowers to see you through. A bit blokey maybe? https://rossirovetti.com/ProdImages/a/cheers.jpg

So good that the cancer team are aware of fasting research. But ooh it does sound complicated. I hope there is more research happening.
So interesting that there are those changes in your energy levels. Good work managing it all.

Betsy, good work getting those treats up high and leaving them there. Maybe if you set one as a reward for mini goals, they will be happier to sit there quietly?

Gday, hooray for getting the third breakdown out of the way. Won’t you love your new phone, not to mention new glasses and a Dyson!
You will need to build a separate gym soon! Good job keeping up your food diary. So good for keeping things real. And hooray for good sleep!
Isn’t it wonderful as businesses are able to open, people are keen to buy things that have been on hold all through the lockdown. Won’t you enjoy that olive oil and honey.

Neil, those scales are really making life hard at the moment, hooray that all the other ways of evaluating how you are doing, are good.

Lindsay, hello to your Island and hooray for the lovely two weeks planned. Just what you needed. Gelati on the last day maybe?

I went to Northcote Plaza yesterday (small shopping centre) and no one was wearing a mask, haven’t seen that since the lockdown started. Very little social distancing and everyone was ignoring the queue marks for waiting to be served, which led me to buy supermarket meat ( 🙁 ) instead of braving the chaos at the butchers. I do understand the concern about the protests, but my friends who were marching were masked and doing their best to social distance, and everyone was anxious about everyone else there, and isolating themselves for two weeks now. No sign of that at the shopping centre!

Isn’t it a worry about that young lad Will, still missing after two freezing nights. Everyone here waking up worried. Loved reading of the woman in the area who put out food and a warm jacket in case he came past overnight.
I cried-laughed about another boy on the ADS spectrum who disappeared last night in the Hunter region, NSW, and sparked off an all night search, only to turn up at his school this morning in the Blue Mountains, haha. He is good at public transport.
Oh I do so hope there will be good news about Will.

Well, 5:2ers, lets make good fast days our priority. It is worth it. I’m going to enjoy my day today and then focus on fasting tomorrow.

Cheers all.

Good morning all.

First I have to admit to a calculation error in yesterday’s post – a difficult thing for a retired statistician to face. I had the numbers rolling around in my head last night as it just didn’t “feel” right. I had calculated the rate of body fat losses on the calorie deficit from one 500FD not two (you can’t see it but I’m shaking my head at such a stupid error). So two FDs and insufficient exercise means it takes just over a month to lose a kilo and if I get my 9-10000 steps every day it’s 3 1/2 weeks. Still too slow for me as I’m currently sitting around 80 and I want to be back to 75. Although if I can get to the 76s I’d be prepared to go back to 5:2 and manage the rest slowly.

Betsy, Good luck with those untouchable goodies. I was given some belated easter eggs on Sunday (Haigs!) and have them stashed away too. I decided that if I really felt like chocolate on a NFD I could have up to 20g (100 calories). Thankfully I’m not in much of a chocolate mood at the moment so it’s safe for the time being.
Thanks for the concern but I don’t think my body will be going into starvation mode as every day has a different calorie level and half of my days are TDEE – that will keep my body guessing. If that was going to happen it would have occurred 6 years ago when I spent many month on 800cals every day. My metabolism has always been slow. I know this because when I was morbidly obese I tracked calories for a month (8 years ago). I maintained a weight of 127kg over that month and ate 1800-1900 calories per day – according to the BMI calculators I should have been eating over 2200 calories to maintain that weight. So I don’t think it was dieting that cased me to need fewer than average calories as I have a similar effect now with my actual TDEE 250 calories under the figure the calculators state. I’m sure my ancestors who lived through famines were very grateful for whichever gene caused this – me, not so much.

Cinque, glad you got to the shops. If others aren’t being safe all you can do is choose the quietest time and wear a mask if you are worried. I too have noticed that people aren’t being as careful as they were a month ago, although they are still obeying the crosses on the floor when queuing at counters and checkouts here. It’s in the isles that they forget to keep their distance.
The chilli bean soup is really good. I’m having a bowl of it my for 1000cal day lunch today and I’ll take a photo and post the recipe on the legume recipie thread. I also made a cream of tomato soup from the Enchanted Broccoli Forest book yesterday. Unusually, it didn’t use cream it used cream cheese to turn it into a creamy soup. An advantage of the cream cheese is that even with the acidic tomato it doesn’t curdle. It also adds more of a tang to the final soup. This isn’t something I would ever have thought of doing myself, but as I am much more likely to have cream cheese than a carton of cream in the fridge I’ll have to remember that for the future. I probably also need to adopt your policy of keeping cream in small portions in the freezer for use in recipies.

GDSA, Well done on the continuing weight loss – I’m so pleased to see that’s going well for you now. I too hope this is the end of the breakages.
Good that you have local producers you can visit for some things. Hopefully they are all open again now. What veggies are you picking? My winter veg plants are still rather small, but I suspect they get a lot less daytime sun than yours.

Lindsay, hope you have a wonderful holiday on the island and can relax a bit – do you get a break from the editing or did that task travel with you? I hadn’t realised you were putting up a fence, but it will make life so much easier with Rosy. Glad you have the rubber ball for your neck as it gives you a home based treatment you can use while on the island. I have a finger press technique I use on the top few vertebrae that really helps to release the tension and makes all the difference between physio treatments.
It does sound like you have set yourself up for holiday of healthy eating holiday and lovely island walks.

Neil, sorry to hear that there was no weight loss this week. It does get more challenging as you add more muscle as you are trying to get back to a weight that has a lower percentage of body fat than you had when previously at that weight. That means shrinking fat cells that have been there for years – and they really know how to resist. Getting out and about probably isn’t helping either as it’s easier to control the food available when you are confined at home every day. Here’s hoping for a better result next week.

It’s a 1000cal day for me and although I don’t count calories, I did mentally tot things up to make sure my menu plan was about right. It seemed like a lot of yummy food for only 1000 calories – not I’m complaining. I have a big bowl of chilli bean-veg soup for lunch with a little grated cheddar on top, an orange and a small banana as snacks and for dinner a roti wrap with a turkey-veg rissole, raita and lots of salad. Plus milk for pots of tea and a cup of almond milk for a hot drink this evening.

The sun is out here and I want to make the most of that and go for a long walk. The forecast says it will be raining on the weekend so I need to enjoy the winter sun while I can.
Hope everyone else is having a good day.

Cinque, did you see the news – they just announced that Will has been found safe and well.

Cinque, I loved the story of how the rescuer connected with him, using thomas the tank engine and chocolate – apparently two of Will’s favourite things.

Hello all, a lovely sunny day in Sydney today

Betsy/Neil, scales are well and good but yes they can be frustrating. I had a good eating NFD yesterday – just over 1,000 calories and well under my TDEE – but the dratted things went up. I also did 30 mins on the exercise bike. It seems the old bod wants to play ‘hang on to the fat’ games but I just need to be patient because science always wins out in the end.

How wonderful that William was found safe and well. The country needed a good-news story.

LJ you are too hard on yourself. We are all human! And you have so much incredible and interesting information in your head I’m not surprised there can be a minor blip here and there. At least you picked up your own mistake and corrected it 🙂

FD today and it’s only 9.30 and I’m hungry. However I have meetings coming up from 10 until 11.30 to keep me distracted. I have my usual small thai beef salad for lunch and OH is making me a stir fry for dinner. I also have a mandarin if I get desperate. I haven’t slept at all well for the last 2 nights so that always has an impact on the hunger levels / ability to keep away from the snacks. However I just keep looking at the photo’s from lunch on Sunday and my resolve comes straight back.

Just a short post for now, take care all

PS: Quacka – where are you? And Cali, hope all is well in the US

Hi Anzac, posts crossed.
Good luck with that FD. I sympathise with the sleep issue, I also find it a challenging food day when I’m tired. All I can suggest is to stay as busy as possible and keep a water bottle/jug next to you (I know I sound like Cinque). It can help you delay food a little longer.

Crossed post with me too, it is like leapfrog!

Haha, you do sound like me, LJoyce. And much sympathy Anzac for the chaos lack of sleep does to our hunger signals.

Good afternoon from sunny but cool Melbourne. Wilbur enjoyed going outside for a while, but has now decided to curl up on my spot on the couch, and I’ve been relegated to the armchair. Makes it a bit harder to use my mouse, but otherwise okay.

Cinque, FD yesterday was 520 cals, so okay. Ate one of my chocolate liquorice sticks today – only about 170 cals, so acceptable to eat one on a TDEE day. Your suggestion to bargain with myself to eat one for June and discard the rest??????????????? Note the appalled punctuation 🙂 . I can happily do that with things like cakes and biscuits, but liquorice? with chocolate? I don’t think so. But one only on TDEE or NFD days I can manage. There are only 5 in the pack, so they’ll be gone in less than 2 weeks.

LJoyce, your photo and explanation of the Dyson were brilliant. Thanks so much. I immediately had a look at mine (I have a barrel one like you; it’s my friend who has a stick one) – and there it was, the circle for my finger exactly as in your photo. It isn’t mentioned in the instructions (which are utterly minimal) and I just thought the ring was some kind of decoration. Whew! Now I know and will be able to use the cleaner more efficiently from now on. Thank you multiple times 🙂

Are the Salvos open again now? I haven’t checked, but have a couple of bags of goodies to donate. You’ve made some wonderful discoveries and purchases. Maybe I can also browse for some long-sleeved blouses? I definitely don’t need trousers/ jeans, whatever, but most of my blouses are short-sleeved. I still have a LOT of them. When working, due to the AC/ heating, I’d wear short-sleeved tops nearly all the time, with a big heavy coat to walk to and from my car. Now I’m home most of the time, I need more long-sleeved tops, especially as some are just too loose now. Your Anorak sounds great, plus the hoodies and cardigans.

Anzac65 and Cinque, hope your FDs are going well today. I’ll have another tomorrow before weighing in on Saturday morning. No movement yet since last Saturday (well, up a bit after the weekend indulgence, then back down again, that’s all). I’m finding in the colder weather that I need warmer drinks – hot water rather than cool is great.

Enjoy your tuna bake, LJoyce!

Hi to those who’ve not posted in the past day – thinatlast, penguin, CalifDreamer, Neilithicman, LindsayL, and we’re thinking of you GDayfromSA, Merryme, Crazyartist, Intesha, Klondi, and anyone else I’ve forgotten.

Keep well everyone!

Afternoon all

Ljoyce, Scrambled eggs and omelettes were my go-to when I was on the fast 800 part of this diet. With only 90 calories or so per egg you can get a decently filling meal for only a couple of hundred calories. Good luck with your 500 calorie day tomorrow.

Betsy, good luck for your weigh-in tomorrow, hopefully your scales are kinder to you than mine were to me. over the last month.

Anzac, I hope you get better sleep. My wife and I have been a bit like that at the moment with disruptive sleep. I’ve been having a bit of an energy crash at around dinner time and my wife has been having an evening snooze on the couch.

Cinque, sorry you had to settle for supermarket meat. I love my butcher’s meat. All his meat is grass fed free range sourced so it has so much more flavor, and it doesn’t shrink down to a hockey puck size in a pan full of water like the stuff you get from the supermarket.

Lindsay, how is your 10 days of healthy eating going?

I think I’ve got a bit of SAD at the moment (Seasonal Affectedness Disorder, otherwise known as the winter blues) It’s dark when I get to work at around 8am and it’s dark when I’m going home around 4:30pm so I never get to see the sun. I feel a bit better after my lunchtime gym session. But I’ve been feeling pretty low other than that, tired with no energy in the evenings and not sleeping well at night. It’s affecting my resolve with my eating too, because when I’m having an energy slump in the evenings I’ve been reaching for sweets. All the lollies in the house have been eaten now so I’ll refrain from buying any more to try and stop that habit. I can’t wait for my holiday next month so I can actually get out during the day and get some vitamin D.

Well have a good day everyone.

Hi Ljoyce. I get a 15 minute morning break that I often get out for a wee walk, but I combine my lunch and afternoon break for my gym session. I go to the gym at lunchtime because I find it hard to muster the motivation to get out to the gym once I’ve come home and settled down. I have a holiday coming up during the school break in a few weeks so I’ll have to last out until then. Then I can get out and recharge my batteries.

good luck with the rest of your 500cal day

Hello everyone.
Lovely here on Stradbroke, with crisp sunny days after a couple of rainy ones. W’ve had some lovely walks on the beach, and Miss Rose has had to be showered and conditioned after some long runs in the sand and the sea. She doesn’t like it at all!

Our first night here and she was so lovely, coming in to say hello during the night, then going back to bed when told. I could hear her tapping on the timber floors as she padded around, and the clink of her name tag, and the Victoria Falls slurping from her water bucket. Then around 4 am all went quiet. She come into the bedroom, quite as a stealth missile, and lifted OH’s pillow that he pops on the floor when he’s finished reading. This is the result.
https://imgur.com/zVm157J

She’s made the window seat her home, which is a shame because I had a beautiful marine blue and white cover made for the cushion. The seat is two metres long – just perfect for an afternoon doze. Now madam has made it hers, and it’s back to the dreary grey that the cushion was originally wrapped in.

Neil, I am not surprised you have a touch of SAD. I used to feel it in the UK too when I worked there, and went to and from in the dark. But I think also the past few months are having an effect on many of us, even though we may not recognise it. Where are you off to for your holiday? (would Vit D supplements help, until you can get back into the sunshine?)

My 10 days of healthy eating are going really well, thank you for asking. I had a really good fast day on Wednesday, and a very controlled one yesterday. I made a great chicken curry for our evening meal, which OH had with rice but I had unadorned I loaded it up with veges ….aubergine, zucchini, bok choy. So fresh and tasty. I find the aubergine thickens it, and I only use a little coconut cream for flavour. And I also squeezed in a solid G & T with no cal tonic, and a square of dark Lindt. I didn’t feel deprived at all!

Ha Betsy and LJ, you’re describing the issue I have with the Dyson Barrel. I’ll check for that ring when I get back to the mainland.

How are you going Anzac? Staying fast? Damn the scales. You know they play tricks, and as long as you stick with your FDs and TDEEs, you will go down.

Thin, yes, onwards and downwards. Upwards?!! What was I thinking (perhaps it was my mindset at the time, haha).

Ooh op shopping again LJ….and such good prizes.

Cinque how are things with you today? I haven’t seen you post, which is unusual.

OK off to the other side for some dog bones for Rosy.

Enjoy what’s left of Friday.

A perfect day, capped off by seeing this little chap in our street on our way home from our walk.
https://imgur.com/AxJ1jcu

And this is where we were walking … this is the park at the end of our little street, looking back towards Brisbane. We don’t often see the sun set over water, in the Eastern states. This is the passage that separates our island from the mainland.

https://imgur.com/i7oCKiU

Anzac, I give Rosy brisket bones. I microwave them for 3 minutes first. They are quite soft and she usually finishes them off. The breeder told me it was important to give her bones to chew – I thought it was for her teeth, but the breeder said it was also to develop the neck and chest muscles. And she has a divine chest, so it must be working 🙂

But aren’t dogs (in general) disgusting. All the lovely food I buy and make especially for her, and the first thing she did when we got over here the other day was head into the back yard and dig up a bone she buried when we were last here in early March.

So glad your scales were kind today – a just reward!

Hello all from a very wet and windy Adelaide. The garden will appreciate the rain, but I already miss the lovely sunny days. Interestingly I’ve felt quite hungry this morning. Partly a reaction to the gloomy weather and also getting up 2 hours earlier than usual didn’t help.
I have a tray of veg in the over to roast (carrot, parsnip, cauliflower and potato). Once they are ready I’ll have some for lunch with the goulash I defrosted. I just need to keep myself away from the fridge and pantry while I’m waiting for the veg to roast.

Lindsay, lovely place to relax and walk. What a naughty Rosy!
I also use a spare pillow to prop my ereader on when reading in bed – but I have no dog stealing spare pillows to worry about.

Anzac, very glad to hear you got through that FD. Hope your weekend is the TDEE NFDs that you had planned.

Have a nice weekend all. It’s taken me so long to write this my lunch is nearly ready – yah!

Betsy & Cinque, In addition to Vinnies and Animal Welfare League op shops, I also have two Salvation Army op shops near me. One is a normal “Salvos” store, it’s fairly large and on a main road and looks similar to other Slavos stores. The other calls themselves a thrift store and they have a room at the back of the Salvation Army meeting/worship hall for clothing & accessories and they also have 2 large shipping containers in the carpark for things like furniture, bedding etc. There are two main differences with these stores. The Slavos stores are part of a national chain and all profits go to Slavos national programs – this may not be local or even in your state. The thrift stores raise funds solely for their local community. For example, my local thrift store focuses particularly on the local homeless population and others living in poverty (we have a significant area of public housing one suburb over from me). They fund the mobile laundry/shower van to visit for a day a week so that local homeless people can wash their clothing and take showers. They also provide vouchers to those locals in need so that they can come to the thrift store and get clothing and household goods without having to pay for them. From my point of view I notice a real difference in pricing, with the Slavos store prices now being at $8-15 per garment for poor-basic brands and $20-35 for good brands and designer, where the thrift store only asks $4-6 for most things except coats which are $8-10. I shop at both, but prefer to support the thrift store. The issue I have with the Salvos store prices is that they’ll ask $8 for a second hand kmart t-shirt, which probably only cost $5-8 new. The Salvos stores are more common – I’d never seen one of their thrift stores until I moved here. I’m wondering if they only exist where attached to one of their meeting halls – which would keep their overheads down.
So far I’ve only been to the thrift store, but once the weather improves I’ll head to Brighton Rd where all the other op shops are. I suspect they are open too as S.A. is already on level 3 restrictions (except for the state border).

Cinque, well done on the waist measurement. For me the target is always under 80cm – not there at the moment.