Hello Southern Hemispherites!!

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  • Good afternoon everyone.

    I am having a very slow day due lack of sleep. For some reason I awoke at 4am and struggled to get back to sleep. A few brief cat naps were the only reward for staying in bed until 7am. I’m feeling very sluggish and craving all things starchy and sugary. So far I have managed to stick to the eating plan.

    Last night I decided that I needed to gradually reintroduce my problem foods (bread & nuts) before returning to a full range of foods. If I don’t I am really risking overdoing it the first time I have some.
    I decided that I’d start with nut butter – a maximum of 1 tblsp per day (just over 100cals) and a piece of bread or it’s equivalent in other crispbreads or grains per day will ok (a bit less than 100cal).
    So far so good, I had a couple of teaspoons of peanut butter on a banana yesterday and a small rye crispbread.
    Today I haven’t had any nut butter yet, but the bread allowance enabled me to have highly satisfying lunch. I had a large cup of creamy harvest vegetable soup followed by a toasted slice of rye sourdough and a boiled egg. Nicely filling and just what I needed with my low energy levels today.

    Thin, I too saw the news on the BBC of the impending shutdown on England, and it looks like Scotland is following suit. Given your stories of how hard some people find it to stick to the safe rules, keeping them at home may be the only answer.
    Frankly giving up cauliflower soup for milk in coffee or tea sounds like a no brainer to me – although I’m a biased milky tea addict.
    Glad you had such a successful FD. I find the 800cal FD useful when I’m doing a string of B2B days but for normal 5:2 I too need my FDs to be under 500cals.

    Cinque, I am glad you finally have some energy again and feel like cooking. Enjoy restocking that fridge. I was thinking I’d have 2 news soups stashed away but given that I’m eating them for two meals a day I don’t know if there will be much left to freeze.
    Hooray indeed for the fondant. I actually gasped when I found the ready rolled fondant – and I felt like hugging it, but managed to restrain myself – I didn’t want to look like a compete idiot.

    After a thoroughly lazy morning I might take myself off for a walk shortly. I couldn’t face it this morning, but it’s amazing what a filling lunch can achieve.
    I’m down to a handful of cherries and one banana, so a trip to the green grocer for more fruit is desperately needed. I might pop into T2 as well as some of the teas I use regularly are 1/3 off at the moment – time to stock up.

    Have a lovely day all.

    Happy New Year all!!!

    From a very wet, sodden and grey Alexandra in Central Otago, South Island. We completed our house sit yesterday which turned out to be in Wedderburn (not Bannockburn as originally planned) and moved on to here yesterday in lovely warm sunshine. Hasn’t lasted very long, fell asleep last night to the sound of gentle rain on the roof, woke this morning to the sound of heavy rain on the roof.

    I hope you all enjoyed the Christmas and New Years activities and gatherings, those of you who were allowed to that is! We thoroughly enjoyed ours, quiet but good, lots of conversations with overseas friends and family, cementing our feelings of just how fortunate we are to be in such a fabulous place right now. My thoughts are with you both Thin and Penguin, with the new indefinite lockdown announced earlier today, such awful news but feel it is needed, should have been in place a while ago in my opinion.

    Sorry to hear of your hospital stay Anzac, but guess you were in the right place and also for the loss of your friend. I lost my brother the same way 10 years ago and I find it something you never quite reconcile because of the ‘why”. Time does however, make the pain of loss easier, I have found.

    With you with the weather Neil and John, rotten summer so far, even worse than last years and we thought that was naff. One good day versus three bad ones, got rid of the wind from earlier only to be replaced by rain, arghhhh! Hope your knees improve Neil, sounded a pretty nasty crash, with the others who think you should possibly seek some professional medical attention to them both, either sports physio or the like, surely it will come under his insurance payout??

    Sounds like you had a blast at Cromwell John, did you get to the new water park near Lowburn, looks great for the kids and families. We were going to head to the cricket on the Monday but kinda pleased we didn’t because it got to 32’ and OH not so keen on that sort of heat. Stayed home and watched in on TV instead, good turnout though. Parked up next to the cricket pitch now, would think its more like a duck pond now though.

    All this cake baking sounds wonderful, the first day at the house sit I found a recipe book on scones (just scones) and found one I had to try, seeing as it was Xmas, Whisky soaked prunes and dark chocolate, and they were yum, baked half a batch and they were so good. Next time I shall soak the prunes overnight as the recipe, but they were still good and will become a firm favourite. I asked OH the question of his preference for choc ganache or fondant icing as a cake covering, and his reply was hilarious, neither, just cream! haha

    I had my first weigh in today since Dec 23rd and my weight is exactly the same, higher than where I would like it but still the same. I am pleased with that as I have been what I thought at the time was quite reckless in my food choices, but I do still practice 16:8, drink 3 ltrs water daily, and only have two meals a day, so at least I know that is good practice. It is obviously my food choices and quantities that are at fault so those two concerns will be addressed this month.

    On that note I shall make another cup of tea and ponder what to make for dinner tonight,

    Turn

    Hello all

    Darn it, I lost a big chatty post yesterday – not sure where it went.

    I am feeling better, just very tired. My appetite is still low so that is a good thing.

    So sorry to hear about your brother Turn and you hit the nail on the head. Everyone just keeps saying ‘why?’. Our friend left a letter but his widow hasn’t read it yet. The police still have it and anyway, she said she is not ready. I live streamed the funeral yesterday and went through half a box of tissues šŸ™

    On a brighter note, my sister’s holiday house down the south coast has unexpectedly become free so the three of us are madly packing our things and will head down either tomorrow or Thursday – it depends when my niece decides to head home from there. We are taking lots of nice veges and herbs from our garden to make some healthy and fresh meals. Maxx can’t wait to hit the beach as it is off-lead before 8.00am and after 4.00pm.

    LJ, congrats on being 4 kilos lighter than last year. You really sound like you have a good plan going forward. That cake – wow! I hope you get a better nights sleep tonight

    Thin, I’m so sorry to hear about the total lock down but I guess that has absolutely no impact on you except to hopefully keep you safer. Congrats on shredding (or shedding?) a whole kilo on your FD

    Did you find the pale cotton kids clothes Cinque? And I hope you were able to find the time/energy to do your henna

    I’m so sorry about your friend and the family death Betsy. Hugs

    Must get back to packing, take care all

    Good Afternoon All,

    Have once again been absent from the forum but have been skimming through and kept up (mostly) with posts.

    We had a quiet Xmas here and then spent 4 days in Adelaide over New Years, watching the Big Bash Cricket (Adelaide Strikers) at the Adelaide Oval on NYE. As usual when we go away, we ate out at some really nice restaurants and of course drank and ate too much which has not helped the waistline at all. But had a good time and did some things we’ve been meaning to do for ages, such as a lovely visit to the Adelaide Botanic Gardens and St Peters Cathedral, both of which Mr GDay has never been to before. Disappointed the NYE riverbank fireworks were cancelled but they had a small fireworks display at the oval after the cricket so all was not lost.

    Miss GDay received a surprise gift for her school graduation, a kitten. He is a right little terror but also cute as a button and has grown so much in the 3 weeks we’ve had him. Much to Mr Gday’s disgust the kitten spends a lot of time inside the house and takes much delight in biting our toes and ankles and exploring every nock and cranny of the house. Our dog adores her new playmate and they have become inseparable.

    My work experience placement for my Fitness study has been approved by the Academy which I’m really happy about because there are only 3 gyms within a 15km radius of where I live, and 2 were not interested in taking on a placement at all so luckily the 3rd gym had all the facilities the Academy required for the placement and they were more than happy to take me on.

    Now that the festive season is over I am back on the low carb, medium protein and high fat diet, no alcohol and increased exercise routine. Even after a few days of ditching the carbs I feel so much better. I’ve been logging my food on the Carb Manager app so I can keep an accurate record of my macro intake. We did visit Haiges Chocolates while in Adelaide (how could we not) so I will keep them hidden and only eat as an occasional treat.

    Our vegie patch is going well, a huge variety of chillies, tomatoes, apple cucumbers, radish, spinach, rocket, capsicum and a variety of different herbs. The lemons are nearly ready to pick and today we picked our first lot of almonds from the tree which I’m really happy about given the tree was only planted about 6 months ago and is still quite small. We recently harvested a heap of brown onions and garlic and still have some pumpkins in storage from last years crop.

    The other fruit trees we have planted over the years but have yet to fruit are Red Delicious and Granny Smith apples, 2 lime trees, orange, pomegranate, bay tree, 2 avocado trees plus another lemon and 2 blueberry bushes. I also have turmeric and ginger but they won’t be ready to harvest for a little while yet.

    I can’t comment on any other posts as even thought I’ve read them, it’s been in bits and pieces over the last 3 weeks and I can’t remember who said what now. But I do remember the Black Books conversation, that’s one of my favourite shows. Neil’s bike accident – hope you are okay Neil and the bike comes back as good as new. And yep Dr MM has ramped up his social media posts with the release of Claire’s new book. I follow Claire on Instagram and she is really lovely, always replys to peoples comments and I was quite excited the first time she responded to one of my comments.

    Time to go and make tea. Chicken thighs and veg in a coconut cream, turmeric and ginger curry. And definitely no rice to go with that! Bye for now.

    Happy New Year everyone!!!

    Hope this finds you all going well. May 2021 be a heck of a lot better than 2020!

    Cheers to everyone,
    Merry and Mr M

    Good morning everyone,

    LJoyce, I do hope you got a better sleep last night.
    That is a great plan for introducing foods you need to be careful of.
    When we can have a small amount and feel wonderfully satisfied, it must be a sign we are doing it right.

    I have decided to go slow on restocking the fridge. I am on a roll with light eating and I have enough in the fridge to continue that for longer. I still have the joy of deciding what I plan to make, though. (I’m working on an African meat stew first).
    I did make a great saucepan full of lentil soup yesterday. It was dictated by what I had on hand and ended up a cross between the french style (with celery and carrot and onion base) and Greek style (with lots of greens and lemon). Some roast capsicum in it too. I have a container in the fridge, and one in the freezer.

    But also that means I can go opshopping today, instead of food shopping šŸ™‚

    Turn! HNY to you too! And Mr Turn!
    Hmm I think I would prefer rain to wind, but I hope it is warm and still for you today.
    Those Christmas scones sound wonderful!
    Cheers for a stable weight over the festive season, and yay for your good practices.
    Those food choices and quantities do remain a work in progress, don’t they.

    Anzac, oh no for the lost post! Thankyou for writing again.
    My heart goes out to you, with the funeral of your friend.I’m glad the letter is there, ready for when the time is right to read it.

    A few days in a holiday house by the sea sounds like just the thing. I do hope you can enjoy every moment and make some beautiful meals with your garden produce.

    On Sunday I went to Savers, the big opshop in Brunswick and found NOTHING! But when I got home I decided to go to the other Savers, in Greensborough. It was fast day after all and I felt like running away. Good move. My little car got to travel at 80 kmh for once! And I bought 22 items at the cost of $80! At least 8 were pale cotton things, and lots of size 7’s which Miss 6 is ready for, and she can dye or not.
    After a couple of days rest I plan to hit a couple more opshops today. Just to see!

    And yes! I did my henna on Monday, such a relief.

    Gday, what a lovely catch up, and so good to hear you are all set for your work experience.
    Welcome little kitten, to your menagerie! They are such fun. I bet Miss Gday was so delighted.

    So glad you are feeling good on your eating plan after the feast season. And how wonderful to hear about your garden and fruit trees.

    Merry! So god to hear from you. I am sending heaps of good wishes and hope life this year will be a gentle, healthy one for you and Mr Merry and all your family.

    Penguin, I asked google for images of wonderful flowers, and it came up with these: https://i.pinimg.com/originals/f6/bd/84/f6bd84153caf3ea4939b66813ade5ec6.jpg Best wishes

    Cheers all, time for coffee, followed by opshops! Cheers for good, mindful, frugal, delicious eating today.

    Hi all

    Iā€™m back. Not sure why itā€™s taken me so long but Iā€™m here now. Boy, what a year you have all had. You might remember that I read the entire thread, all 4 years of it, before I joined two years ago, well I thought I better check to see how everyone had been going so I spent a week reading the last 12 months and I couldnā€™t believe how much had happened in all your lives quite separate to the pandemic. You are a remarkable community of supportive people and I am sorry I let myself slip out of it.

    My update is that we have been very lucky and pretty much sailed through the last year. My weight stayed stable on sort of 5-2, FD being more like 800 cal and NFD being relaxed. We managed to leave Victoria on our annual caravan holiday in June just as the hotspots started to appear and we were in NSW long enough to be able to go into Queensland when they opened their borders to NSW. Then of course, everything went pear shaped and our family ordered us to stay put and we were very happy to comply. We spent quite a bit of time at Bargara, on the coast from Bundaberg but I did find a few lost kilos lurking in the bushes there who managed to attach themselves again.

    We finally came back home in the middle of November, a 5 month trip instead of the usual 3 and it was lovely to be back. Our extended family are all doing ok, the workers are still employed, two WFH, the other a permitted worker who mixed WFH with onsite work. My DIL is hugely immuno-compromised and just stayed home. Since arriving home, 5-2 has definitely not been followed but with only mildly bad results and now I find myself with a couple more kilos hanging around. Iā€™m not exactly sure how many as my Aldi digital scales died last month after only one year and of course, I threw away my old mechanical scales which worked for 40 years. So I donā€™t know if the new scales are weighing the same. Not to worry, I will just aim to lose 4 kilos as per these, after all, my clothes still fit and my target is just a number which I thought would be good.

    Reading the thread reminded me of all the strategies I had forgotten, small portions, stop when you are full or just before, mung bean soup etc. Iā€™ve had a proper FD and a CD and already I have lost a kilo. Got to love this WOL but even more, got to love this community, I wonder if you realise what a great one it is.

    I wonā€™t comment on everyone today as this is long enough already except to say hello to that legend, Cinque. I have loved all your flowers, greetings etc but your high point was definitely those flowered jocks you sent Penguin, youā€™ll never top those

    Stay well everyone and Iā€™ll post again soon. May 2021 wipe out the memory of 2020

    Good evening everyone.

    I have just returned home from an unexpected dinner out. My great-niece decided at the last minute that she wanted a birthday dinner after all so we went to the Christies Beach Hotel – nice meal and a really lovely ocean view. She liked her cake, which is good because it was a very simplistic design as I only have a few cutters for scones and biscuits. https://imgur.com/a/v4y5v5A From the this angle the edge of the fondant looks a bit odd, but I did put it on straight – it had a scalloped edge – it reminded me of table cloth.
    I needed to have a light meal and luckily there was a salad with baby spinach, roasted pumpkin, feta and a pearl couscous. It was one of the few things on the menu that didn’t come with a mound of chips.

    How lovely to hear from so many people after long absences.

    Merry, happy new year, I hope life is treating you and Mr M well.

    Klondi, what an effort to read a whole year of posts – I’m surprised it only took you a week! Welcome back. Lovely to have you back. It sounds like a very lucky circumstance to find yourself out of Melbourne for the duration of the lockdown.

    Turn, the weather does sound a bit dour over there. Those scones could be addictive. The chocolate must be an NZ thing – you don’t see scones with chocolate in them here, but I was served chocolate scones for afternoon tea on a visit to NZ in the 1990s.

    GDSA, what a relief to find a placement and to have it approved. I hope you learn lots. I bet that kitten was a treasured surprise for your daughter. (I think they are all terrors when they are young.)

    Anzac, have a lovely break by the beach – a wonderful thing to do before you have to face work again.

    Cinque, I think the go slow with restocking is a sensible plan. I tend to go overboard and end up with so much fresh food I have to cook madly to avoid waste.

    Well I need to head to bed, my infusion appointment was moved on short notice and is first thing tomorrow. That means I should have done a FD today, but I would have been under 1000cals and I made only healthy choices today so I think I’ll be ok.
    Night all.

    Klond, so happy to see you back. I was literally thinking of you this week and had been meaning to ask Cinque for news of you. For those that don’t yet know her, Klond is a highly valued asset to our thread.

    Turn, I’m pleased to hear from you as well. So sorry to hear of your brother’s death and all the unanswered questions. You and Klond have a lot in common by the way, so stick around both!

    Anzac, was your friend’s funeral live streamed because of covid? I’m sorry for your pain. Our marina neighbour lost a friend to suicide on NYE. He left behind two young children. My neighbour is feeling very angry with him. I’ve gently explained that he probably wouldn’t have been thinking with a sound mind at the time. Have a lovely break away.

    Yes, we’re now in lockdown Mark III. Anzac, you’re exactly right, it makes almost no difference to us. To be honest, we welcome it. Cinque, your tolerance and kindness are overwhelming and I regret not being able to share in some of it! I’m quite sure that it didn’t take you ten months to come to terms with how to wear a mask and what six feet of social distancing looks like. I am trying to phrase it so that any request I make of people helps us ‘keep each other safe’. But that is not what I’m thinking! ha ha.

    Cinque, you’ve been having some great op shop finds. I thought of you before Xmas when shopping for a whacky Christmas jumper at a shop called Vintage Vixen. In the end I bought one at Beyond Retro. I thought you and the other op shoppers, CalifD and LJ, might enjoy reading their ethos: https://www.beyondretro.com/pages/our-sustainable-vision

    LJ, glad you had a nice meal out and that the cake was appreciated. Not that there was ever any doubt.

    Hi to our other returnees, Merry, Betsy, GDSA et al.

    Good morning,
    A beautiful Melbourne day here, but I have so many things to do that I need to be living today three times to fit them all in. And it is fast day.

    Klondi, woot! So typical of you to do a complete catch up and then write such a lovely post making us feel so good. No wonder we have missed you here.
    We will all have a nice time waving goodbye to those creeping kilos. Hooray for that kilo of yours already gone. And hoping the new scales last longer!
    Haha yes, smaller portions, stopping before full and mung bean soup. The SHthread trinity šŸ˜€ šŸ˜€ šŸ˜€

    LJoyce, a wonderful cake. I love the green marbled butterfly.
    It is good to test the boundaries, and hopefully you find that yesterdays limited amount of eating works fine with your infusion today. (Otherwise it will be back to hard fasts!).

    Thin, I have learnt a lot! I am good at not touching my face when I am out and about. I put on my mask with one clean move and don’t touch it til I take it off with another neat action. I keep it over my nose! I am aware of people around me, and wait, or if necessary move past with face averted.
    But I bet after listing those things I will do something dumb at the busy veggie shop today.

    Well, I have to run, but I am glad things seem to be starting to calm down in Washington, what a morning of news!

    Tomorrow I have Miss 4 first thing in the morning and for most of the day, but I am looking forward to a more leisurely post after that. Best wishes all.

    Hi all

    Cali. I am so sorry to see and hear what is happening in USA. You must be wondering when this is going to end. Iā€™m so glad that your little family unit is staying safe. Are you still working? Letā€™s hope that the next 13 days go by without any more drama and the healing can start.

    Lindsay. How are all the feet in the family. Hopefully, better. Your bees are being very good and that pendant is one to treasure always. I think Miss 4 has been here before. She is going to be a handful when she grows up but how delightful. Rosie is perpetual entertainment (for your readers) but not so much for you. Lucky she is so beautiful. The most Bobby does is steal cheese off the coffee table or explore the deck table for crumbs etc although he did once lick half the icing off a birthday cake. I told everyone that the dog ate my homework.

    Gday. So much has changed for you this year. All power to you to change direction and get on with your life. Good news about your OH and your DD must be excited about the next phase in her life.

    Neil. I canā€™t believe that you followed such a strict regime for 30 days and didnā€™t once lick a spoon. I would have to have someone else do the cooking if that was me. Great results though, have you worked out what you will be eating going forward. Your exercise is so impressive, how often do you think back to how you lived your life just a short time ago.

    Betsy. You to have had a busy year despite delaying your studies. Arenā€™t you lucky to still have your strawberry plant. My warrigul greens didnā€™t survive my extended trip away. Your perseverance is to be admired and you have to be better off because of it.

    Penguin. I know you are busy with your life, positive and negative but hopefully you are keeping well and your new place suits you both. Iā€™m sure you are having fun exploring your new surroundings, looking at them with a painters eye. Do you have a garden now. Look out for those strange flowering undies.

    Anzac. What a year you have had, capping it with a hospital trip. I hope this means you can take some sick leave to recuperate or donā€™t contractors get things like that. Maxx is such a wonderful distraction for you. Met a few labs while we were away and they were such joyful dogs. You mentioned that you would like to do some writing. Just go back over the last year of this thread and you will have enough for a mini series. Genuine lows leavened by gentle highs.

    Thin. Thanks for the welcome. Your life sounds both challenging. and rewarding. Shame itā€™s not in better circumstances. At least, lockdown is less onerous than being cramped up in a little flat. Hopefully, the current rules and the vaccine will reduce the numbers a lot.

    Intesha. You are a warrior. Managing to look after your health despite all that life is dealing you. I hope that the next time you post, we will hear of you and your dad settled in to a new place and life getting a bit easier. Stay safe and well

    Merry Another warrior. Lovely to hear you are still soldiering on and keeping us up to date. Hope your international rellies are okay . Iā€™m so glad mine are here now and not in Tennessee.

    Quakka. Third warrior. Taking charge of your future, new studies, coping with a nasty illness and staying upbeat. I was thinking of you when I was sorting my meagre collection of shoes. I only have about 10 pairs. I wasnā€™t gifted with the shoe gene. You would need your new career very soon if it was up to me.

    Jony. Welcome to this great community. I can see you fit right in. Bet it was a nice surprise to find a kindred spirit right on your doorstep. Donā€™t let Superman put you off, us other lesser mortals took a lot longer to get to goal and kept our physical fitness at more human levels.

    LJ. Your family are so lucky to have such a wonderful and willing baker. I admire your discipline with keeping to fairly low calories for so long, no wonder you need NFD just to stay focussed. I should do more planning, thatā€™s been part of my downfall lately but I do have a new App which has helped me use what I have in my pantry etc which is very helpful and Iā€™m using that to give structure to my meals.

    Cinque. Thanks for the greeting. Woot back to you. Trust you to have perfected mask wearing. I know Iā€™m hopeless at keeping my hands off it but at least I keep it over my nose as well as my mouth. I had to laugh at myself today when I checked the recipe for mung bean soup. I have been wondering why I had fenugreek in my pantry and at the last clear out I chucked it out. Light bulb moment, now I need to get some more but I will be at the lovely Basfoods shop and stock up again.

    I hope no one is offended at my lighthearted reference to a mini series. Many of you have had very sad times losing loved ones and facing serious illness. I sympathised with you as I read through the year and marvelled at the resilience shown and the support offered and received. I think we still have a few challenges with coronavirus issues and possibly the fall out from USA as well as the economic damage that has been done. Having said that, it looks like a vaccine will mitigate the effects of the pandemic, USA will start to heal the from poison of Trump and money will start to flow. Glass half full or empty, the important thing is that there is something in the glass.
    Stay well. First weekly weigh in tomorrow and I think the results will be very satisfactory.

    Happy New Year to you all – a little late, but Klondi’s very chatty post made me want to hop right on and send good wishes to you all.

    Klondi, how wonderful to hear from you, and what an amazing post. It made me feel good to read it.

    Our feet are all better – nothing like a shot of cortisone between the joints to set mine to rights, and OH is seeing a rheumatologist who took one look at his and told him they had collapsed (arches, I guess) and he needed to make best friends with a podiatrist. So, that’s what he will do.

    My poor OH had some dispiriting news from his optometrist in the Christmas week – further loss of 10 to 15% sight in his only sighted eye. He’ll see his opthamologist on 11 January when he returns, to see if more treatment can stop the decline. In the meantime, he’s getting on with things in his wonderful, cheerful way.

    About the bees – here’s something funny ….well, odd anyway. In the pool on Tuesday I flicked a leaf out, but the bee that was happily resting on it decided to give me a super sting on the way out, just at the base of my thumb and palm. The antihistamine I took didn’t do much to stop my hand from swelling to twice its size. But here’s the odd thing ….later that evening in bed my knee started throbbing for no good reason, and yesterday was so stiff and painful I couldn’t really walk or bend much. But as the hand has returned to normal, so has the knee. The reaction must have been connected, surely?

    I’m not going to try to respond to everyone today – I’ve been reading but not posting lately. As you know, when I’m a bit troubled I tend to recede.

    But I do want to say that I’ve read such honest and painful revelations, particularly since you lost your friend Anzac. I was so sad for you all and so admired your willingness to share your stories. What an amazing group of people you are.

    And so good to see people back – Merry, Turn, G’day.

    I’ll try to pop in tomorrow.

    https://imgur.com/a/kwa1UBI

    WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS!! Well, in world cricket anyway, which is a big deal in Aust, England and NZ, as it’s our main summer sport. We smashed the West Indies then did the same to Pakistan in test series and our wins counted towards the new world test series, which we now lead. However, we’ve finish our games for the time being and now we now have to cool our heels as the Aussies and other teams play tests. Go India to slam the Aussies!

    Sorry for not posting recently – After my week at Cromwell celebrating all sorts of things I’ve been very busy gardening and biking and looking after grandies and biking and . . . Did I mention biking? Nice healthy sport. I’ve decided to start my fourth biking group in the last 22 years and that’s why I posted the pic of the St Clair shark bell. Just down the hill from my place, it will be our gathering point each Wednesday morning at 9.30am. I think the bell was put up after a fatal shark attack on an open-water swimmer at St Clair beach in 1964; two other people were killed by sharks near here, all in the 1960s. Our new group will be biking and not going in the water, so don’t worry.

    However, I must admit I’ve had my own shark scare, while surfing at Kakanui about an hour’s drive north of Dunedin about 1974. I caught a flash of a big black fin scything thru the water to my left and I yelled “shark” to my wife. Instantly a nice wave popped up and I got a sweet ride straight to the beach. My wife wasn’t so lucky, as she was still stuck in Jaws territory, but in a way she was lucky, as she got a good look at the “shark” and decided it was actually a porpoise. Whew!

    My fasting regime is still going strong – today I’m having my 30th FD, which means I’m into week 15. It’s just part of my life now and the weight loss has been pleasing. I’m now under 100kg and would love to get down to about 90kg. I’ve been pleased with the attitude of cafe owners I visit on a FD – today I called at a newly opened cafe in Macandrew Bay on Otago Harbour while out on a 30km bike ride and I ordered a coffee and asked the waitress if she’d mind if I nibbled on some mixed nuts with my coffee, as the huge cakes they serve up these days would blow my FD to shreds. No prob, she said. I promised to bring our new bike group in for a coffee when we rode down to Mac Bay for the first time.

    G’day to Klondikekween – what a great post! Obviously some of the posters have their medical worries – my heart goes out to them. Here’s hoping the positive vibes generated by taking part in the fasting forum will pay off with better health for all!

    Everyone – keep on shrinking and may your health improve.

    John

    Klond, ‘glass half empty’ people should remember that the glass can be refilled.

    Jony, great shark story!

    Just a quick post to check in tonight. Klondi, itā€™s so good to hear from you tonight and catch up on your news. Iā€™ve missed your posts.

    Merry, itā€™s good to hear from you again too. I hope all is going well with you.

    Lindsay, I cringed when I read about that bee sting at the base of your thumb. That had to be so painful! Could a bee have stung your knee as well at the same time and you didnā€™t notice it because your hand hurt so much? Iā€™m glad the antihistamine finally worked and the swelling went down on both.

    I still have some reading to catch up on all of your posts which I will get to tomorrow. Iā€™m sure youā€™ve all seen at least some of the news about the horrific day weā€™ve had today, both with the record Covid numbers and the attack on our nationā€™s Capitol which resulted in 4 deaths and a lot of stunned people who never thought something like that could happen here. Tonight, the election was finally officially certified and Biden and Harris will take over on Jan 20th. Iā€™ve been glued to the TV and Internet most of the day trying to find out what was going on.

    Stay well and safe everyone. Itā€™s so good to know you are all here.

    Evening all

    I’m still on holiday, I’m back to work on Monday unfortunately, which will probably be both a good and bad thing. Bad that I’ll miss out on my nice long morning rides, good thing because I’ve been eating more bread and dairy than I should and subsequently gained another kilo to hover around the 87 kilo mark. It should come back off when I get back to work and can be more disciplined in my eating. My goal is to eat mostly whole foods with minimal, but some dairy and gluten.

    I hit just over 3,200 kilometers on the road last year plus what I did on the exercise bike during the winter, my goal this year is to hit 4042 kilometers, 2 kilometers for every year of 2021. I’m also planning on riding the alps to ocean ride sometime in the next couple of months so I’ve been doing some nice long hilly rides to get some miles in my legs before heading out. I’ve hit 200kms already this year. Today’s ride was a battle against the wind up the harbour to Portobello before heading up the 8 km climb up Highcliff Road, round the beaches, up John’s street (Aberdeen Road), up Kaikorai Valley Road and then up the hill to home. 2 hours 45 minutes, 55 kms, and 1.2 km of climbing. My philosophy is to train hard and then take it easy on the ride. The alps to ocean ride will be over 100 kms a day, but other than one grunty little climb on day 2 it’s pretty much all downhill.

    I heard back from the bike shop about my bike, it will cost $1400 to fix including $999 for the front fork which will need to be shipped from Australia. Since it only cost me $1450 to buy the bike I’m pretty sure the insurance company will want a replacement. I’ve forwarded on the quote to them and I’m waiting to hear back from them

    Good to see a few absentee friends posting back on the forum again and I’ll have to make time to head back through the forum and have a decent read through the posts.

    Have a great one everyone and I’ll catch up with you later.

    Thin. I couldnā€™t agree more.

    Good evening all.

    For those bemoaning the lack of a summer – beware what you wish for. Perth had just experienced a week of temperatures in the 30s-40s and bushfires. The heat arrived in Adelaide today and I suspect it will continue to head east. It looks like it hangs around for about a week. it will mean early morning walks only for me for the next week.

    Cali, the events of recent days beggar belief, although in some ways I’m actually not surprised. I imagine everyone is holding their breath for the new 2 weeks to end.

    Thin, I hope you are coping with the new restrictions, although as you say, there will be little change from your normal behavious. As to how to get people to keep their distance, there was a comedy skit on tv here a few months ago which had Ray Martin wearing a crinoline and insisting he didn’t leave home without it. Not sure you’d fit on a narrow boat on one of those though – I’d think you’d get stuck in the doorway.

    Jony, Neil & Turn, congratulations on reaching number one in test cricket.

    Jony, I did have a good giggle at your shark scare. To this day I hate ocean swimming. I grew up inland and learned to swim in a freshwater lake – I firmly believe that there should be nothing fore dangerous that a yabby in any water I swim in.

    Neil, if the insurance company does replace your bike with a new one and you can get the same model, you may be able to keep the old one for spare parts – just in case of further mishaps.

    Lindsay, Pleased about the improved feet, but so sorry to hear that your husband’s precious remaining sight has reduced again. We will all keep our fingers crossed for better news from his opthamologist.
    I do think it’s possible for an allergic reaction to show up elsewhere a few hours later. I had an allergic reaction to a cortisone injection that was put into my foot and then 24 hours later my face started swelling and my throat almost closed off. The only reason I connected the 2 events is that it happened again the same way, the next time I had a cortisone injection in my shoulder. I think that when something you are allergic to gets into the blood stream it can travel anywhere in the body.

    Klondi, I’m very glad to hear that you are happy with your first week back – that will spur you on.

    Cinque I hope you had a lovely day with Miss4 and are not too exhausted.
    The cake was for my eldest great neice (22), but my youngest great niece (7) really really wanted that butterfly – her favourite colour is green. I think she has the belief “if it’s green it’s mine. The marbling was a bit of fluke actually – I was mixing a drop each of yellow and blue gels into the fondant and only had the job half done when I realised I like the marbled effect – a happy accident.

    I learned a difficult but welcome lesson yesterday. My willpower is completely MIA when I’m really tired and the only safe option is a FD because I never break those regardless of fatigue. My infusion appointment was moved to first thing Thursday and as it always makes me very timed within minutes of completion I was figting fatigue all day – not helped by babysitting from 3-6pm.
    Yesterday was day 13 of me trying to eat within very strict rules. I managed to stay on plan with a little extra fruit until dinner time but after a bowl of soup for dinner I still felt really hungry and had about 120g grams of sourdough with cheese. I really enjoyed it while I was eating it and then felt ok, but within half an hour I felt too full and slightly sick. I’m actually pleased I had that reaction as I don’t often get clear signals from my body about appetite and hunger. Now I know that as far as binges go it barely qualifies, but it was the first time in the 13 days that I didn’t feel in control of my food decisions.
    I have decided to end what I had been doing and return to normal 5:2 immediately. Today was a NFD and a test of how I’d behave when all foods were now available. I’m quite happy actually as I managed to eat quite lightly and the only diversions were one Haighs lemon truffle that I was given for christmas and a small piece of the cake trimmings from Wednesday – I’d frozen it so that I could taste it later as it’s a recipe I hadn’t made before.

    Tomorrow is my first proper FD since before christmas. I have a little of the grilled haloumi that I’ve been having in lunchtime salads left. I will make a large baby spinach based salad for my FD dinner and add that to it.

    Kia ora, fast family

    Does anyone have any ideas for low-calorie main courses for consumption on FD’s? I’ve been doing the 5:2 regime for 15 weeks now and seem to be stuck on just two types of evening meal, aiming for about 300 calories. One of my meals features about 150 grams of roasted chicken with roasted veges and the other has 150 grams of smoked salmon or roasted blue cod with roasted veges. My only other meal of the day is a light breakfast, with my fare alternating between 2 Weetbix with milk AND a poached egg on rye toast. I also have several coffees and teas during the day and the odd thin biscuit and I usually have a 250ml Diet Coke before dinner to substitute for the drink I often have at that time.

    Even if someone had some ideas for what I could cook as a protein source of about 200 cals to match with roasted veges for dinner, I’d appreciate it.

    I’m pleased to report my scales told me this morning I’d dropped to 99.2kg, the lightest I’ve been for at least 7 years. I’m amazed I’ve managed to stick to the 5:2 for so long, so it’s obviously well designed.

    Thanks, John

    Hi Jony,
    If you are just looking for some solid protein and don’t want to change the roast veg as the bulk of your plate then you have a few options:

    Lean roast lamb (100g cooked weight or 150g raw)- If the whole family has a roast you could just measure your portion. My method however is to buy a leg of lamb, remove the fat and cut small hunks from the leg and freeze them individually – 200cals would be roughly a 150g hunk of raw lamb leg – this could then be roasted with your veg. I do this in an airfryer.

    Lean steak or roast beef is similar to lamb, approx 100g cooked or 150g raw.

    A beef & veggie burger – take 100g very lean beef mince and add grated/minced vegetables (eg onion, carrot, zucchini) and herbs, garlic, spices you like and make a hamburger/rissole. I usually add dry couscous per burger to absorb the moisture that the veggies release when cooking. I also find adding beef stock powder to the burger mixture also helps a lot – it basically helps the whole burger taste like beef, even though it’s half veg. If this option appeals to you, the easiest way would be to do this in bulk and make 500g lean mince into 5 burgers. They will freeze uncooked and can be thawed the day you want them.
    A recipe to start that you can adapt to your taste: For 500g very lean mince (5% fat content) if you add 2 cloves crushed garlic, 1 medium chopped onion, 1 medium grated carrot, 1 medium grated zucchini, 1 1/2 tblsp (20g) dry couscous, 2 tsp beef stock powder, 2 tsp dried mixed herbs, 1 egg and 2 tsp olive oil. Mix everything well and form into 5 burgers. They will be roughly 200 calories. They also have 6.5g fat, 24.3g protein, 6.8g carb and 2.4g fibre. (In case you were wondering, the egg helps to bind the burger together and the olive oil increases the fat content just a little to reduce the dryness of such a lean burger.) If you leave the oil out the burgers are 180cal each. You can make these spicy by omitting the herbs and using garam masala, cumin, chilli etc.
    If you are ready to be even more adventurous you could also replace the 500g of mince with 800g cooked drained brown lentils for a completely veggie burger.

    An omelette – You could have a 3 x 60g egg omelette and stuff your veggies into it. Alternatively you could make a smaller omelette with 2 eggs but add 20g grated parmesan to the omelette. Both options are about 200cals. (I use omelettes a lot on FDs, especially when I have some leftover cooked veg that I can stuff into it – dinner in 10 mins!)

    One final thing you might consider is to do a veggie stir fry instead of roasting veg. I often do this on FDs in hot weather. For protein I add either cashew nuts or cubed chicken breast and I flavour it with garlic, ginger and a little tamari sauce.
    200g of raw chicken breast pieces is about 200calories.
    35g or raw cashews is about 200cals. It doesn’t sound like much but they still feel like a treat among a big bowl of veg on a FD.

    Something I use a lot for FD dinners are hearty soups which are mostly veg but also have plenty of legumes which add protein and make it filling (eg minestone without the pasta and very little oil). I can usually have at least a 2 cup portion and stay within my FD calorie limit.

    I hope some of those options help.

    John, I should also have mentioned curries. If you are careful with the oil content and make them mostly veg with some meat or legumes they make a very filling and tasty FD meal. I have them without rice of breads on FDs.

    Jony. I agree with LJ re stir fry. I use a small chicken breast between two and lots of veggies. Not sure of the exact calories but itā€™s low. I also sometimes poach a fish fillet with tomato and onion with some steamed veggies and that is also low calorie. You are doing well.

    Hi John, on my fast days some of my go-to meals were omelette and veg, chilli beans with salad, or spicy lentil dahl. All great sources of protein and low calorie.

    Have a play around on non fast days and see if thereā€™s anything you like that you can add into your fast day rotations. Nothing worse than trying a new food on a fast day and finding you donā€™t enjoy the one bigger meal youā€™re allowed that day.

    Morning all….I started my post yesterday so will push on..

    Cali, such scenes in Washington. Just beyond imagining. I hope Trump will quietly fade away after the inauguration – removing him earlier would make a martyr of him, surely?

    Thanks too Cali and LJ for the concern about the bee sting – but really, nothing too painful or unusual (it’s the ones on my face that have caused concern in the past, as Cinque reminded me just the other day). I was just commenting on the unexpected connection between knee and hand. (definitely not a sting on the knee …I definitely would have felt it, but also I was up to my chest in water at the time. Here’s the pic, after the antihistamine. https://imgur.com/a/Yb4mhql

    Congratulations Jony on the cricket. I’ll ignore your comment about India thrashing us. ABA hey? (anyone but Australia?) šŸ™‚ Didn’t Smith do well yesterday?

    Neil how well you’ve done to be so firmly in the eighties, despite holiday relaxation. Hope your return to work isn’t too painful.

    So we in Brisbane are in lockdown for 3 days, while contact tracing happens for the hotel cleaner who has the new highly contagious strain. And mandatory masks outdoors. I can take Rosy for a big park run, but not to our usual cricket ground. The dog owners are a lovely bunch, but do tend to congregate.

    Cinque, what lovely op shopping. Are you able to see the family regularly now?

    LJ do you suffer regularly with insomnia? I struggle to sleep. Years of shift work as a journalist I suspect. But I also suffer with cramps when I am low-carbing, and I’ve started taking magnesium powder, and it’s helping with sleeping. I’ve also gone back to books to read at bedtime and not my ipad. My habit was to jump into bed and tackle the diabolical suduko in the Australian. I’d get to sleep fine, but wake half an hour later, wide wide awake. So, another small pleasure gone as I search for that elusive 8 hours.

    Turn I’m with LJ….scones with chocolate seem a bit odd …I can’t imagine what they are like. But then I’m a traditionalist who doesn’t like chocolate hot cross buns either. Did you see they are in the shops already? Crackers. (And I’m with Mr Turn …cream’s fine). Sorry the weather’s not been great. Ditto to Johh and Neil. As I write this I’m sitting in jumper and slippers, listening to the rain, after days of sunny 35 degrees earlier in the week. The weather gods just can’t make up their minds.

    Loved your shark story Jony ….hard to tell from a black fin what lurks beneath. And well done on your success with this WOL. Isn’t it amazing? I felt such relief when I finally found a ‘diet’ for want of a better word, that would allow me to lose weight without having to sacrifice my social life.

    Speaking of which, I find meals out are absolute killers, no matter how hard I try to order well. This week, lunch out with big brother and SIL. I ordered laab with tofu ….next morning, my weight was up by half a kilo. grrrrr.

    And Thin, I’m with you on telling people to keep their distance. Yesterday, in Aldi, everyone calmly going about their business, and a woman in a mask was standing on the marker behind me. But then the teller moved the belt and her groceries shot forward, and so did she. Almost touching. Not politely at all, I told her she was far too close, to move back. Another grrrr.

    Love all the ideas for FD meals – so easy to get caught in a rut. LJ those burgers sound ideal….and OH could have the same, but with some extras.

    OK I’m off now to listen to the silence. It’s always just the birds that we wake to, but this morning they were particularly clear and bright. But it’s so still here that the early train that is usually just a faint noise in the distance sounded like it was chuffing up our back verandah.

    Be safe everyone.

    Hello everyone.

    I am just home from my morning exercise. I went to a friend’s place in the hills and we walked to a favourite cafe (downhill) and then had to trek uphill to get home – about 4.5km for the round trip. It’s a lovely walk for a hot day as it mostly follows a creek and has lots of shady trees.

    John, I agree with Neil about adapting some of your usual meals for FDs. I used to have specific things I cooked for FDs but over time I found I could use normal meals as long as it was a small portion padded out with cooked veg or salad. For example if I make a curry, casserole or stew on a NFD I can save a small portion for my FD. I will cook plenty of low cal veg and have those with a small portion of the casserole. There are a few casserole that are laden with cream or coconut cream that I probably wouldn’t use, but most things are surprising adaptable – it’s all about the portion size and serving it with veg not grains. This works for pasta sauce too – some leftover pasta sauce can be served over a plate of cooked veg – doesn’t have to be pasta.

    Lindsay, listening to silence sounds wonderful. I live cheek by jowl with my neighbours and as I usually keep the glass sliding doors open there is always noise. Enjoy the silence for both of us.

    I’m doing a proper FD500 today, the first in a while. It horribly hot here today which is an excellent appetite suppressant for me. Salad with grilled haloumi for dinner tonight.

    Hope you are all having an excellent weekend.

    Jony, LJ, Klondi and Neil gave you some good suggestions for FD meals. I always go for high fiber or for soup which is filling.

    Lindsay, your hand looks really painful in that picture. And that was after the antihistamine? Ouch!
    I doubt that Trump will fade away quietly after the inauguration. I donā€™t think there is enough time for impeachment, but thatā€™s the direction they seem to heading. I just wish these last 12 days were over. He is still capable of doing so much damage.

    Good Afternoon all,

    Grrr just wrote a long post and accidently hit the close button and lost it so am now writing on a word document to copy and paste into the forum to save any further mishaps. How frustrating. Hereā€™s the summarised version of my original post because Iā€™m too annoyed to write the full post again ā€“ and possibly because I canā€™t remember everything I wroteā€¦…haha.

    Klondi wonderful to hear from you again and well done on catching up on all the posts – huge effort indeed.

    Cali, what horrendous scenes in Washington this week. I do hope when Biden in formally at the reins the country settles down and Trump vanishes into oblivion, although I doubt it by his last few comments. At least his twitter account has been permanently suspended so thatā€™s one less medium he has at his disposal.

    Great shark story Jony. I recall my brother when we were young during a holiday in Glenelg running from the water thinking he was being attacked by a shark which ended up being a porpoise. I can still recall the look on his face now and it would have been at least 45 plus years ago. I also remember about 15 years ago when we had a yacht (pre Mr GDay times) and a group of us yachties sailed down the gulf, set anchor and spent the afternoon swimming quite a way offshore only to see a few hours later when we were back on deck an extremely large hammer head shark cruise by the boats. The following day a large white pointer was spotted by some fishermen from the shacks in the same area. That was the last time I swam in sea water where I couldnā€™t touch the bottom.

    Iā€™ve kept to my strict very low carb macro ratios the last 9 days and am surprised how easy itā€™s been. Only eating 2 meals a day, 1pm and 6pm with on average 1000 cal per day. Iā€™m going to throw in an extended fast early next week, minimum of 48 hours and will see how I feel if I continue longer or not. Iā€™m disappointed that I have lost no weight at all in the last 9 days, the scales show a daily fluctuation of 0.1 kg up and down each day ā€“ exactly that, nothing more and nothing less. Iā€™ve found in the past an extended fast kick starts some weight loss so I think I will need to include that as a fortnightly routine from now on. Iā€™ve never had any issues with an extended fast and find them quite easy to do.

    Mr GDay bought Dr Claire Mosleyā€™s new book for me today, The Fast 800 Easy. Iā€™ve only flicked through it so far and itā€™s full of fabulous recipes. Tonight I will read in full and have no doubt the pages will end up full of little sticky notes indicating the recipes I want to cook.

    LJoyce the weather the next few days is an indication that summer is certainly here for us in SA. Today was the first day of 40 deg plus which continues for 4 more days.

    My time will be spent studying as I have 2 Fitness and 2 Weight Management assignments to do which are all quite lengthy. One of the Weight Management assignments is to produce a minimum 50 page information pack designed to educate clients on nutritional requirements and meal planning. Iā€™ve just read the full assignment requirements and the pack must address a criteria of 18 main topic points and an additional 89 sub-topic points ā€“ phew! The good thing is that what I produce I can use when I start my business as a pack for my own clients. One of my first major assignments was to produce a 50 page Welcome Pack for clients so I have that up my sleeve also for future use.

    Time to sign off for now, enjoy the rest of your weekend everyone.

    Jony, I’m surprised that no one pointed you to our recipe page: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/southern-hemispherites-fd-recipes/

    LJ, yes, that skirt was exactly what I was thinking. Since the national lockdown, there are far fewer people about because non-essential shops are closed. This will make a big difference. I hope your return to 5:2 is rewarding for you.

    Lindsay, good for you telling the woman to back-off. We stand at the far end of the conveyor belt while the person ahead checks out. Our groceries advance but we don’t. Then, when it’s our turn to pay, we pointedly place the marker well beyond our groceries making eye contact with the person behind us almost defying them to come closer! I think Aldi is the worst for compliance and enforcement. I notice in the upmarket Waitrose, customers are very well heeled!

    CalifD, I read that the Mexicans are now happy to pay for the wall. And the Canadians want one too. I don’t think the basket of 70 million deplorables will disappear on 20 Jan. Pelosi needs to focus her energy on what attracted them to Trump and start addressing those issues if the democrats genuinely want ‘healing’ to begin.

    Great shark stories. I’m one that looks around for sharks in a swimming pool and there’s no chance I’d ever get attacked by one unless they find a way to get on the beach.

    Our trip to the Canaries began as wishful thinking, then became increasingly complicated (and costly) as more and more restrictions were brought into play first by Britain requiring us to self-isolate on return, then the Canaries requiring a specific negative covid test, then Spain banning all UK flights. We’d always been prepared to forfeit the money and entering tier 4 lockdown before Xmas, we decided it was unsafe to pursue. Our national lockdown has given us a bonus we hadnā€™t anticipated ā€“ the cancellation of the flight and a full refund.

    Hi fast family

    Grateful thanks for your suggestions for different FD main meals. Some great ideas there – I’ll give some of them a try. You could say you’ve given me food for thought!

    Regards, John

    Hello, it is fast day for me, and nearly midday.

    I am in recovery mode after doing too much including a trip to the creek with my granddaughter and my weekly skipping which is much needed for my cardio vascular system but takes a few days to recover.

    So I am just going to do short posts to catch myself up, and hope I can do more tomorrow.

    Klondi, that fenugreek is definitely a key ingredient in that mung soup! Haha chucking it out. Luckily 5:2 is possible without mung bean soup šŸ˜€

    Lindsay I am so glad your feet are better (you and Mr L). So hard that Mr L’s sight is fading further, I do hope treatment may help. I do hope things get better generally, and not just so we see you here more often šŸ˜‰
    I do understand that your bee sting thing indicates you are having a systemic reaction, rather than a localised one, and you probably should mention it to your doctor.
    It is nice to hear how well the Brisbane lockdown is going (once the supermarket rush slowed down) and what excellent mask wearers you are. Keep keeping others in line!

    Jony, cheeky man, ofcourse the Australians are winning this cricket match!

    We once had a shark scare on a beach in FNQ (Far North Queensland) but the locals laughed at our alarm because it was such a baby.

    Have fun trying some new recipes. Thin beat me to sharing the link to the recipe thread. Hopefully you will find plenty of inspiration.

    I have a new toy, a little lidded stoneware ramekin for the microwave that were apparently all the rage 5 years ago. Opshop find ofcourse. I am still experimenting with it, but it easily makes a small meal (about 1 1/2 cups), which is really useful for fast days and most days, and I can cook in it and eat out of it, so that is handy.

    Jony, when you first got under 100kg I was cheering, but thought I would wait til you settled before having a big celebration. And you have! Fireworks are in order!
    https://bestanimations.com/media/fireworks/1694668762blue-erd-green-fireworks-gif.gif

    Off to rest again. Backson.

    Hello fellow fasters, from lockdown in Brisbane, Australia.
    After months of no locally acquired cases of COVID19 in Queensland, a case of the highly contagious UK strain found its way out of quarantine, so the government has locked us (greater Brisbane) down for 3 days to limit the spread and track the infections. Seems to be going well – no new cases yesterday, from over 19,000 tests.

    After 7 years 5 months on the 5&2 intermittent fasting lifestyle, I thought I would share my experiences and observations.

    I started on the 5&2 on 6/08/2013, after watching Michael Mosley’s “Eat, Fast and Live Longer”. As I sat down to eat a huge plate of food at a mining camp mess hall, there was a sign on the table that read:
    “A gut that you can grab increases your chances of heart disease, diabetes & cancer by 3 fold”
    I reached down and grabbed a big handful of belly fat and realised this had to change. I tipped the scales at over 94kg (15 stone) and I’m not a tall man at 170cm (5’6″). I started the 5&2 lifestyle the following day and took my weight down to 74kg over the next 18 months or so. I subsequently lowered my intensity and allowed my weight to stabilise at around 78kg, where it has been ever since. Observations:

    This is a lifestyle – not a diet. My diet is little changed – only my overall calorie intake. I think one of the reasons the 5&2 is not better known is that there is nothing to sell us – you save money rather than spending it on diet products. I eat whatever I like – no restrictions on fast food, chocolate or fatty foods. I do eat a high fruit and veg, high fiber, low meat diet. I eat fewer, but higher quality meals generally.

    Don’t snack on fast days. The worst mistake you can make is to think that having a snack will “tide me over” – make me feel less hungry. Quite the opposite is true – a snack wakes up your digestive system and makes you far hungrier as your body cries out for more food. I have a salad in the evening prior, then nothing but water, tea, coffee and sometimes a cup of Miso soup for lunch on a fast day.

    Most of the time, I don’t even notice that I’m fasting. After stabilising my new weight, I rarely notice I’m fasting and often realise that I haven’t had any food for the whole day when it isn’t a designated fast day.

    More energy on a fast day – I’m a dedicated high speed commuter cyclist and have noticed that my best performance is very often on fast days. My body seems to have no problem with converting fat reserves into blood sugar and powering on.

    So many people, who need to lose weight, have said to me “Oh – I could never do that” They see going without food for an extended period as “starvation” and believe in common myths about needing to eat frequently to maintain their energy levels. This is nonsense – unless you are already on the road to type 2 diabetes. So they remain amongst the 94% who repeatedly lose weight only to put it all back on again šŸ™

    My wife has recently started on the 5&2 – any advice on how to encourage her stay the course would be very welcome. She’s very sensitive to being told what to do.

    Good afternoon everyone.

    Hi Lionel, welcome. Seems a silly to be saying that to someone who has been doing 5:2 for so long. There are a few of us here who came to lose some weight and stayed and used 5:2 to help with maintenance.
    As to ideas to help your wife. If you can sync your FDs to hers it would be very supportive as she wouldn’t have to watch you eat normal meals while she’s on 500 calories. You could also tell her about this forum of Aussies & New Zealanders (plus a few others we’ve adopted from the US and the UK). I have found this group supportive, encouraging, and so helpful.
    I suspect Neil & John (our Dunedin crew) will love chatting to you – they are avid cyclists too.

    Lindsay, hope you are coping with lockdown. The lack of new cases today makes it look very hopeful that just the planned 3 days is all that’s required. We are keeping our fingers crossed for you.
    Insomnia, sorry to hear you have had issues with it too. I used to have a lot of trouble getting to sleep when I was working – probably because I was worrying about not getting enough sleep before the alarm went of at 5:45am. It is easier in retirement as I don’t have that anxiety keeping me awake. I still usually take a while to get to sleep and I always read myself to sleep. I also won’t use a tablet for reading in bed, but I use a kindle which is not backlit and doesn’t make my eyes tired the way a tablet screen does. I find it’s much easier to hold than a novel with my arthritic wrists. These days I usually get to sleep within 1-2 hours of going to bed but I never stay asleep all night. I always wake needing the toilet at some point. I really should stop drinking all fluids after dinner but never seem to manage it.

    Thin, sorry that your trip to the Canary Islands is off – although I always thought it was a bit of a long shot. Excellent news that you’ll get a refund though.
    I saw the news yesterday that 1 in 30 people in the London area are infected – it just beggars belief.

    Cinque, I hope you had a restful afternoon. I’m not surprised that shopping and a day of babysitting with an outing has laid you low. It would do that to me too.

    GDSA, I think it’s a great idea that the assignments create products for you to use when you are working. There’s a real incentive to do a really good job of them.
    I fully expected that our high 30s days would mean 40s for you. It’s one of the things I hated about where I grew up – the relentless heat in the summer was just awful.

    Cali, the horror show that is the end of this presidency has been getting a lot of media time here too. The second impeachment seems like a symbolic act to me as they have to know they have no hope of it getting through both houses before the next president is sworn in. While I agree that Trump should face consequences for his recent actions, I worry that this will just stir the flames of discontent among his ardent supporters and result in even more violence.

    Klondi, how are you doing? Back onto the 5:2 wagon without too many issues I hope.

    I managed to get a walk in this morning along the esplanade at Brighton before the heat became too awful. I have spent the afternoon cooking to set myself up for this week. I’m minding my nephew’s kids all day tomorrow so I expect to be exhausted – having dinner already made will help a lot.
    I did my first FD500 in a while yesterday and it went fine. I’ll do another on Tuesday.

    Hope everyone is having a good day.

    Lionel, (LFFL?) welcome to you. That was an enjoyable introduction, I could have almost written it myself had it not been for the power cycling part. In terms of your wife’s participation, hopefully the motivation to live a healthier, longer life comes from her so she’s not being told what to do. Any weight loss will be an added bonus. I’ve been enjoying this way of life since August 2014 and for much of it, was responsible for meals for two OFMs not on 5:2. My OH fasted with me for the first 11 months only to give me support and I had to be very creative in providing FD ‘meals’ as he eats by the clock.

    I learned that my husband isn’t responsible for what I put in my mouth and vice versa and I don’t need to compete with what he eats. Unfortunately, he isn’t particularly motivated to choose the healthiest food options (he measures his health only by the fact that he has not gained one ounce since high school) so, over the years, I’ve become comfortable watching him eat things that aren’t on my menu. If he stuffs himself with cake, I just think to myself, “that’s your insulin”. In terms of FD meals though, I always make a family meal and bulk his up with carbs, extra portions, sides of vegetables, etc. So essentially, I’m not eating anything much different, just a lot less (I rigidly adhere to the calorie limit).

    LJ, it’s a sign of how drastically things have declined since the end of November. At the time, the UK had a ‘corridor of countries’ where it was considered safe to travel. We’d just ended a national lockdown that had reversed the trend significantly, the vaccine was imminent and private testing was available at airports. In addition, we’d thoroughly examined how we’d prepare ourselves before departure in case of the need to self-isolate on return. I wish the government’s message had been ‘act as if everyone around you has the virus’ rather than ‘act as if you have the virus’. Those that don’t care, still don’t care.

    I find it worrying that the govt. is being urged to employ celebrities and footballers to get the messaging across. People would be more inclined to listen to a footballer telling them to get the vaccine than they would a scientist. God help us.

    Morning all

    I’m back at work again unfortunately. Although because the kids are still off for a couple of weeks I can take my bike and take the long way home as well as the long way to work.

    Welcome Lionel, although I’m a baby compared to you on this way of life. I’m coming up on my second anniversary. I started fasting on 23rd January 2019 at 131.5 kilograms and I got down to 85 kilos (although I gained a couple over the Christmas holidays) I’m a bit taller than you at 1.78m (5’10”). I cycle to work as well, I usually take the long way and do about an hour of riding before I start work in the morning and go for an excursion in the weekend. I’ve racked up about 310 kilometers so far this year as I’m getting some conditioning in my legs to ride the Alps to Ocean trail in the next month or two. I would have thought that your results are enough to convince your wife of the benefits of sticking with the fasting.

    Ljoyce, well done on managing the walk and a 500 cal fast day.

    Thin, sorry you missed out on your trip to the Canaries, although getting a refund of the money has got to feel good. My niece had a school trip to Cambodia booked and during the initial Covid lockdown the Australian based travel company went under and they have been through a long legal battle to get the funds refunded. Luckily she had only paid a deposit of a thousand dollars or so, some of the kids on it had paid all of the money up front and are out thousands of dollars.

    Cinque, hope you’re feeling all refreshed after you trip and skipping.

    Hi everyone else, I have a huge pile of work that needs working though so I can’t post much more.

    Have a great one everyone.

    Good morning friends

    Back at work today (boo) but we had a gorgeous 4 days down down the south coast. We switched off our phones and did nothing but watch cricket, play cards and take long walks on the beautiful beach. We did overeat but back on the bandwagon again now.

    So I have a LOT of posts to catch up on and hope to do so over the next day or so. I hope you are all ok. After those traumatic first two weeks of my holidays (Mr Anzac tearing his bicep, Mr Anzac’s cold cancelling our family Christmas, the tragic death of our friend, my hospital stay) I’m so glad the third week was disaster free and relaxing so I can face a very challenging three months or so in my job

    Back soon!

    Hello,
    Day after fast day for me. Too hot here (I wouldn’t survive in Gday territory) but a cool change tonight and so a nice day inside catching up on posts and then emails, I hope.

    Welcome Lionel, hooray for your 7.5 years on 5:2.
    It was such a relief to find something so easy and sustainable to help my health. I have a chronic illness (me/cfs) so I am extremely limited in the amount of exercise I can do, but luckily 5:2 works anyway.

    My thoughts on your question about encouraging your wife are very like Thin’s. ie hope inside that she gives it a good try, but just go with her decisions about it, make it easy and kind. (I’m like her, there is nothing like being told what to do, to make me decide the opposite).
    We’d love to have her here if she wants some community support.

    Part 2 (I didn’t manage more than one catch up post yesterday, so goodness knows how many you will get today!).

    I was thinking, I surprised myself that I have learned not to touch my face when out and about. I thought it would be impossible, but (unless I am fooling myself) I am really aware every time I think of touching my face. The problem is, knowing that the virus is so aspirational (haha), I am wary of rubbing my nose with my arm or any of those other things that avoid hand to face. Life is a trick these days.

    Jony, luckily I crowed about the cricket before they got going yesterday. I would have lost my chance.

    Cali, I am always so glad and relieved to hear from you. Yikes, the political drama in your country is even drowning out the awful frightening covid numbers. The hospitalisations and deaths break my heart.
    So glad your lovely household are being so careful. Are you keeping up your daily activity inside? Starjumps? Running up and down stairs? I hope the daylight is beginning to feel a bit longer.

    Thin, I missed (I think!) commenting on that lovely shop you linked. I would love to be running something like that, in an alternate universe. It would be such a pleasure finding gorgeous second hand things and then getting them in their best shape to sell on.

    Ok, I need another pot of coffee before my next post, but will probably still miss responding to some of the wonderful things shared here, sigh, so apologies!

    Oh Gday 40 plus ….that’s dreadful. I was reading on the ABC news site that a lot of the old wives’ (or old husbands’) tales about keeping cool aren’t that effective. One recommendation to stay cooler was to keep the fans on and air con at 26… … or just fans if you don’t (like us) have air con. Once it reaches 45, it doesn’t work – it’s just hot air circulating. For a good night’s sleep in the extreme heat I freeze my hot water bottle then wrap it in a hand towel and slip it between the sheets. It won’t make the temperature cooler, but it means I can get to sleep more easily.

    Cinque, I love to read your posts each day. I am sorry you aren’t on top form at the moment ….hope you can get some good rest in and back on form very soon. I did a hive inspection (minus DS) yesterday….I only meant to have a look but one of the combs broke away so I had to harvest it. I didn’t take the smoker (DS’s job) so the girls were extremely cross and stung me in 3 places through the suit. Fast antihistamine, and no reaction at all. And 3 jars of honey.

    Calif, I hope now Trump’s social media voice has been silenced, he can’t spread his poison so virulently, particularly pre-inauguration. Had it been you or me not abiding by the Twitter rules, we would have been shut down a long time ago.

    Welcome Lionel – you’ve done brilliantly. Hope you can get your OH on board, but as Thin says, ultimately she’ll decide.

    Have a good day back at work Neil. You too Anzac. Glad the last part of your break was so lovely and relaxing.

    LJ we are lucky that we live down a long drive so don’t get the traffic noise, although during winter when it is very still we can get the buzz of the freeway early morning, even though we never hear it normally. And that said, when my neighbour roars up our adjoining drives in her huge 4 wheel drive, the serenity is shattered! But usually, birds, and the distant sound of the train is the norm.

    Cinque, I love the sound of your little ramekin. Such good op shopping. I have decided to look for dinner plates in our op shops, when they reopen. My pink and grey Villaroy and Boch dinner set has lost a few pieces after being used daily for years, so I want to get some odd plates in those colours. I want to be very particular in which ones I choose. I’m quite excited by the thought.

    Brisbane lockdown is going well, and we’ll find out soon if it’s to be continued. I have taken Rosy to the park each day and people are all mask-wearing and keeping their distance….all but one older man who was running without a mask. I told him yesterday he needed one (I’m getting quite assertive about this Thin) and he was most appreciative fortunately … he hadn’t caught up with the new regulations.

    Jony, another FD meal suggestion is a minestrone soup, minus the pasta. I cooked it for dinner last night, and it was filling and delicious. When I’m being super conscious of carbs I don’t put in the beans either.

    I skipped off to do some vegetable shopping yesterday while OH was at the field with Rose… and ran into our doctor, whom I am sure I’ve mentioned before is an absolutely angel. He’s been managing OH’s gout for such a long time – which apparently gave him carte blanche to look into my trolley and congratulate me on very healthy shopping…lots of vegetables, wholegrain bread, etc “no purines there”…and for only buying 4 rolls of toilet paper. Unfortunately I also had 15 bars of Lindt chocolate in the trolley, but as luck would have it, most had slipped under other items, and the ones he could see were the 70% ones, which he also approved of. So funny.

    And to finish, a little story about Miss 4. She wanted to choose journalist DD’s lipstick for work today and was quite surprised to find she had to wear a mask even at her desk. “But what about when you’re singing, Mum?” DD told her they didn’t do singing at her work. “But Mum, what about when you’re in the playground.” No playground. Sadly, “Oh Mum”. So hard for a kindy kid, soon to be a prepper, to understand the world of work.

    Post 3 (I’m unstoppable! šŸ˜‰ )

    Neil, brilliant year last year and topping it this year! With a new bike it seems, I hope it comes through soon.
    Welcome back to work (sigh šŸ˜€ )

    LJoyce, our forecast high beats yours today! (By one degree) Ooh I am so glad that butterfly especially delighted your youngest great niece.

    I so match you with the terrible problem tiredness gives when eating. I wish functioning when tired really used up all the calories our brains think it must!

    Jony, I am scrolling past your post asking for recipe tips again and thinking about the the protein bit. I tend to go for a fish fillet or a chicken fillet (no skin) either poached in my soup or panfried or, in my current experimentation, cooked in the little microwave ramekin with the veg. And yes, eggs are my other one too. Okonomiyaki! (My recipe is more like an omelette than a pancake)

    Lindsay, I LOVE the idea that Trump might ‘quietly fade away’. Ha, hard to visualise but wouldn’t it be nice.
    He is fading from social media!

    Woot! woot! that your lockdown can end tonight!

    Yes I can see my family now. Childminding every Friday, and in a couple of weeks going with them for two nights on Cape Woolamai, Phillip Island. But still doing our zoomsisters each week, which is lovely.

    Oh and yay for listening to the silence, such a pleasure.

    Gday, so cruel that you lost a post. So good that you managed to write another one. That information pack sounds a wonderful useful assignment. Enjoy.

    I am so glad you are having an easy time with your eating. May it continue. The scales will catch up eventually.

    Thin, I’m glad you got your refund for that possible trip. Hopefully it won’t be too long before you can book again.

    Anzac, back at work! I hope you have a good day. So glad you had a great break. Take care.

    Well, I am nearly finished my second (weaker) pot of coffee and it is time for a rest.

    Best wishes to you all.

    Post Script!

    I just had to pop back because I missed the other bookend of world sympathy. US one end, UK the other. So much sympathy Thin and Penguin for the case numbers in your homeland, and the terrible stress on hospitals at the moment. <3 <3 <3
    And I missed this when it first came out, but it gave me such a lovely giggle this morning. Language lovers will appreciate it so much
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVQ29tfOvl8&feature=youtu.be

    And a lovely Lindsay post in the meantime. Woohoo the three stings no reaction, not to mention the three jars of honey.
    And what a clever trolley to hide all the high sugar Lindt!
    Good luck opshopping! I love having a specific thing (or things) to hunt for. It can take ages, but when you find the right thing… such pleasure!
    Ooh I love Miss4’s (previous) idea of work. Lots of lipsticked people singing!

    Ok back to resting! With the fan on, because hooray it isn’t 45 degrees here!

    Cheers all. Looking forward to my lunch ramekin in a couple of hours. I watered the garden and harvested early, and it is a non fast day, so it will have warrigal greens, spring onion and zucchini from the garden, bacon, chickpeas, roasted chili pepper and carrot. And I might melt some cheese on top!

    Hi Lindsay – failed to notice till just now that we are both Brisbanians – if that’s the correct term for someone from Brisbane šŸ˜‰ I also noticed that we both have a dog called Rosie and both enjoy walks where we get to chat with other dog owners – it’s fair to say that this is the main area where I feel there is a sense of community in my local area. Sadly, our Rosie has recently been diagnosed with cancer and we are having to come to terms with her leaving us fairly soon.

    LJ and Thinatlast – thanks very much for your constructive comments. We have already synchronised our fast days for the reasons you explain. She opts to have no evening meal prior to a FD, whereas I opt for a salad with a can of chick peas or other pulses so I don’t go to bed hungry.
    Since I’m only maintaining, I apply no calorie restrictions to my eating days – eating things like fish and chips occasionally, but I find I have no desire to eat such meals regularly. I also apply no restrictions to cake, chocolate, etc. – but again, no desire to overindulge in these.
    It seems to me that when you have your system used to going for extended periods without calories and your blood sugar and insulin production operating healthily, there is no cravings for sugary (and possibly fatty) foods at excessive levels.

    Lionel, welcome to the forum! Youā€™ve had wonderful success with fasting. It makes it so much easier when other members of your household are following the program, especially doing the same FDā€™s. My OH, like Thinā€™s, doesnā€™t need to lose weight so I either add more starches other calories to his portions or he eats something different on my FDā€™s. Weā€™d welcome your wife if sheā€™d like to join us here for support. Iā€™m so sorry to hear that your dog has cancer. What type of dog is she?

    Cinque, I loved that YouTube video link you posted! It was funny. I found another on the page, just below it. https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=9Eo9M4-BrJA This guy did quite a good job on Covid Rhapsody and should appeal to all our Queen fans.

    Anzac, going back into the office must seem a lot different after working from home and having days off. After catching up on sleep I hope you take it a little easy with work hours. I know it can get pretty hectic for you.

    I got a lot of sleep last night since I fell asleep on the sofa about a third of the way through a series episode of Coyote and then slept through a whole movie that OH and DS watched. I was completely out, even though the volume was pretty loud on the tv. Lately my sleep has been impacted by stress along with my normal insomnia, and I felt so much better today after catching up.

    Thin, Iā€™m glad you got your deposit back for the Canary Islands trip and am sorry things have gotten worse there. You mentioned Mexico now wanting to pay for the wall, but while driving back and forth is limited to essential travel, itā€™s ok to fly or take a train to most places in Mexico. A voluntary 10 day quarantine upon returning to the US is suggested. We can fly to just about any country that will allow us in. I hope the new administration puts some restraints on travel. Thereā€™s a reason Aus and NZ have such low Covid cases.

    Lindsay, minestrone soup is a great FD suggestion, especially for summer with all of the fresh vegetables. Miss 4 must have been disappointed to find out her mum couldnā€™t wear lipstick and sing at her desk and have no playground time. Working is just no fun at all! šŸ˜ Itā€™s strange not to hear about Trumpā€™s daily insults to his cabinet members or lawyers. Not only Twitter and FB, but Instagram and youtube has banned him as well.

    LJ, I love that cake with the green butterfly. Another decorating success.

    Stay well and have a good day, everyone.

    Lionel Iā€™m sure MrsL already knows plenty about 5/2 and itā€™s great that she is now on board. The thing which I found helpful as I lost weight and size was opshopping. Actually buying clothes which are smaller and flattering to her new figure will be tangible proof of her progress without forking out huge sums. Culling clothes which no longer fit is also therapeutic and just further makes the point that the WOL is working. Appreciative comments are also good with the odd wolf whistle thrown in. If she also has any health issues, then even better that she is taking control of her life. Hope that she joins us here but if not, please keep us up to date one her progress and pass on our support. Itā€™s quite a big wagon we are on and she has plenty of company.

    Cali. Our sympathy goes out to you. What a disaster and no real end to the division in your country. They canā€™t let him get away with this but any action will be seen as persecution by his supporters. Hope that your part of the country is stable.

    Cinque. You just keep bobbing up like a ball in the ocean. Your ramekin sounds perfect. Mung bean soup duly made, two serves in the freezer and three eaten. OH even had one and enjoyed it although he isnā€™t into legumes etc. What a lovely break with your family, hope you donā€™t come home too wrung out.

    Lindsay. Lock down over without any damage done to your numbers. Glad you can manage those bee stings now, do you have bulk orders of antihistamine. Perhaps you can take payment for your honey in tablets. You mentioned a while ago that you are trying to cut down on plastics and reuse chux wipes. I have found bamboo wipes which are reusable. They do a great job on kitchen benches etc then into the wash and reuse. They are made in China but at least itā€™s a renewable resource. Sounds like Miss 4 would be a great boss. We need more singing and play at work.

    Thin. Itā€™s such a shame that UK has deteriorated so badly. The NHS is apparently being slammed which has to have an effect on the level of care patients are given. Is the vaccine roll out improving? Sad about your trip but the Canary Islands arenā€™t going anywhere and will wait for this to be over.

    Gday. That heat is too much. Must be a nightmare for your garden and livestock. Your course sounds very thorough and in depth. And practical. Using your course work to provide you with material for your clients is so good and knowing that you will be using it will make it so much easier to complete. I can see you being a fount of knowledge for us in the future.

    Anzac. You sound much more positive. Great that you had a relaxing time at last. Letā€™s hope your work gets a bit easier and you enjoy your stay on the wagon.

    Neil. Powering away as usual. Any news on your bike. Thank goodness that it will be covered by insurance. Enjoy the Me time before the chaos of school and after school activities start again.

    LJ I am enjoying being back in the routine of 5/2. One kilo down and no real struggle. I am back recording my food again and that certainly helps me focus on what I eat. I now have a Fitbit, sangria colour so sounds similar to yours and mostly respond when it reminds me to walk. I miss less phone calls too now which is an unexpected bonus. I am wondering if you have thought of succession planning. Any of the next generation interested in taking on the baking mantle. My Miss 9 has learnt how to make her 80 year old great auntsā€™ shortbread and her mince tarts are next.

    Slightly odd time for us. We have holidayed in Warrnambool (south coast of Victoria) for the last 39 years but due to COVID, they balloted the spaces this year and we opted out. Suddenly I am able to catch up with people in January and itā€™s rather nice. Extra time with DS and family too. Thereā€™s always a silver lining.

    Klond, so true – there is always a silver lining! Although I am still trying to find the one that goes with losing my long missive this morning. Perhaps it’s that it saved everyone from my ramble. Like technology’s way of saying, “oh shut up!”. Good job on your first kilo gone without issue.

    Lionel (you’re not getting shortened to LFFL it seems), I completely concur with your observations. Over time, IF shaped my food desires and portions without my ever realising it. Sugar is SO addictive. As the others said, it would be great if your OH joined us here. We’d whip her into shape, ha ha!

    Anzac, wonderful that you had such a lovely break after all the unpleasant events in your life recently. Don’t let the employer take advantage of your strong work ethic, OK?

    Cinque, what a marathon posting session! And a great ramekin find. I could well imagine you running that vintage clothing shop with Rose.

    Lindsay, your mention of freezing the hot water bottle prompts this question: can a hot water bottle be microwaved if it has no metal parts in the screw top?

    CalifD, so good that you had a good night’s sleep, always a bonus. I try to limit the news to once a day rather than the 24 hour absorption method. And never, ever would I get my news from the likes of twitter or FB. What an alarming level of political power those social media outlets seem to wield. I can’t imagine following anyone’s ‘instant thoughts’ let alone Trump’s. I’m far too busy living my own life.

    We won’t be re-booking our trip. The window of opportunity expires next month. The boat would also need a holiday as it can’t be left unattended on the canals so, at Ā£300 pm for a marina mooring, it’s not viable. In any event, we’re excited to get back to constant cruising come March. We are safe and well and can have the occasional walk in a soggy field with DD over the next seven weeks.

    There are far worse places to spend lockdown and I’m grateful that we can float away whenever and to wherever the mood takes us. Meanwhile, our marina neighbours are really lovely. Snippets of conversation while freezing to death outside and standing 6ft apart is all we can manage for now.

    Neil, that was awful for your niece’s family and especially those who’d forked out the entire sum for that school trip. Our plans were mere folly and, at Ā£17 per flight, no real risk at all.

    Klond, the UK has vaccinated more people than the rest of Europe combined. The NHS is under intense pressure right now. I have great faith in its ability to deliver the vaccine. Tens of thousands of people are administered the ‘flu vaccine every year and they know what they’re doing. The first four categories identified should be vaccinated by the end of February. I’m grateful that includes OH. It’s determined in order of likelihood of death by covid – so largely by age. I miss out by a few weeks on joining the 65+ group which already puts me 11 million further down the list. Now every special interest group imaginable has its collective hand up to queue jump. Logistically, I doubt I’ll get one at all because appointments are by invitation in the mail and we’ll be constant cruisers when my turn comes. No local address = no registration with a local doctor.

    I’m grateful that supermarkets have stepped up their resolve today concerning customers refusing to wear masks and social distance. I wasn’t the only one lodging a complaint last week.

    Penguin, hoping you’re safely installed in your new, temporary accommodation and that the treatment yielded a satisfactory outcome.

    Ok so it turned into a ramble anyway. I may have replied to others this morning, but that’s it for today!

    Morena all

    Well I had been doing plenty of exercise over the holidays, but it was nothing compared to how tired I felt at the end of yesterday where I just crashed on the couch after work. We were super busy, having to try to get through all the work that came in last week as some departments were back from last Tuesday. It will probably be the rest of the week before we can get back on top of it so I may be conspicuously absent for the rest of this week

    Have a great one everyone.

    Good morning from a gloriously sunny and warm Sydney. Tops of 30 here today

    I am going to write lots of small posts because if I try to save it all up I’ll never write it

    Firstly a HUGE hello to dear Klondi! Welcome back and thank you for rejoining our little community. I thought about you often and hoped you and Mr Klondi and lovely Bobby were ok. As the only person I’ve met in person (and can you believe that was August 2019?) I missed you lots.

    Sorry work is crazy Neil. I hit the ground running yesterday too. We have a crazy deadline of the end of March to implement two branches into the new product system. Initially this was planned to take one year but they are squeezing it into 3 months. Just because. GAH. First day back and a rude person sent me a meeting request for 7.00pm Sydney time that I politely DECLINED. For goodness sake!

    So sorry about your trip Thin, but it wasn’t a huge surprise that it had to be cancelled. Glad you are safe and able to do some walks with your daughter. I saw some terrible pictures this morning of hospitals in the UK that are well beyond breaking point. It is just so terrible and it makes my heart ache.

    Welcome Lionel!

    Ok, a meeting looms. Back soon šŸ™‚

    Good morning,

    Hooray for the ‘L’s in Brisbane.
    Much sympathy Lionel for your Rosie, best wishes to her.

    Cali, the Coronavirus Rhapsody was very good!
    Hooray for your good sleep! So precious.
    Hopefully it will make healthy eating easy and pleasurable too, over the next couple of days at least!

    Klondi, you are a quick worker! And making me hungry for mung bean soup!

    Remembering how it is from Afghanistan (and Eastern Iran) reminds me to say LJoyce, I am still really enjoying that cooking show by the amazing car racer come cook. I especially love it when she visits countries I am not familiar with. I just loved the Jordanian one with the big ball of yoghurt preserved with a salt covering!

    Thin, grr, there has been too many posts lost lately. I will be careful when I press submit today. Hooray for a long chatty post.
    And hooray for the supermarkets making mask policy clear. I was so grateful we did that. At the start of our lockdown there was a security guard at the entrance next to the sanitiser!
    Sweeter, when we started opening up, were the staff members at libraries and other organisations and shops carefully welcoming customers and taking down our contact number. (No QR technology).

    Neil, there is nothing so tiring as the first day at work! Even when it is back at work. I hope today is nice and easy.

    Well, my get up and go got up and went. It is lovely and cool today, but yesterday drained me. I don’t think coffee will help šŸ™ (just finished a pot) but I will try lots of glasses of water. Luckily I can take it easy.

    Best wishes all! Including Mrs Lionel šŸ˜€

    A quick post to say hello. Good morning everyone.

    I’m still feeling shattered after a hot day of babysitting yesterday and too many nights of quite broken sleep lately (the heat I think). Luckily today I have no requirement to be anywhere or do anything at any particular time – what a blessing.
    Despite the heat I got the kids covered in sunblock and hats and insisted we still had to walk if they wanted to go to the bakery for lunch yesterday. Miss 7 was incredulous and said “I can’t believe you’re making us walk.” She recovered from feeling aggrieved quickly enough and as usual they both enjoyed themselves. When we got home she wanted to go on the trampoline – I’m the only one who saw the irony in that.

    FD for me and I thankfully have a large tub of freekah, sprouted legume and crunchy veg salad in the fridge so I can have a bowl of that for dinner.

    Time for a second cup of tea and a hot wheat bag for my back. I’ll try to pop in again later and catch up properly. Hope you are all having a good day.

    Good Afternoon everyone of you lovely fasters, readers and lurkers!

    Good to hear you are going OK CaliD and Thin, with both of you in more challenging circumstances. Penguin and Mrs P I hope you and your family are both going OK as best as possible in all the turmoil of your year last year and now in early ’21.

    Answering just a couple of things –

    Jony – If you like seafood – all are calories per 100gms:

    barramundi is a satisfyingly solid fish, raw – 92 cals
    basa is lighter, raw – 82 cals
    hoki with skin on, raw – 92 cals
    hoki with skin off, raw – 66 cals
    cod also fairly solid, raw – 90 cals
    prawns, shelled, raw – 89 cals
    calamari(squid)prepped, raw – 78 cals
    oysters, shelled, raw – 72 cals
    crab, shelled, raw – 87 cals
    and in case you’ve been able to get some of those lobsters that would have headed China šŸ˜‰
    lobster, shelled, raw – 143 cals
    marinara mix, prepped, raw – average from various sources – 73 cals

    The hoki, barramundi, and cod are all available from Aldi in frozen packs.

    I’ve used all but the crab, oysters and lobster on Fast Days. I find the basafish too light to be satisfying as I like something that has a bit of body that I can chew.

    If I’m making something with Asian flavour I also sometimes use Asian fish balls, the made in Australia ones – Hakka Brand – 97 cals. Sometimes I mix a few of the balls with calamari or fish in an asian soup with low cal veggies.

    Meat Fast Day option in our house is lean pork fillet from Aldi also – 103 cals / 100gms
    Lean pork leg, no fat or crackling, raw – 111 cals/100gms.

    Poultry:
    chicken breast, no skin, raw – 105 cals/100gms
    turkey breast, skinless, raw – 117 cals

    Close your eyes CaliD šŸ˜‰

    Coles has kangaroo meatballs, hamburger patties and steak – which also come in about 90-100 cals/100gms.
    We sometimes have the meatballs and hamburger patties served with something tomato-ishi- sauce, chutney, and even cranberry sauce.

    Merry

    Hi Lionel !

    Good to meet you and read your story. My suggestions, as you’ve already noted, are to sync your Fast Days, and ask if your wife would like to say hello on the forum here. There is a lot of experience here on this thread, with long- term fasters, several with spouses on, off or sometimes on or off 5:2 or otherwise modifying their diet and lifestyle. We are an eclectic mix of people who recognise that everyone works through their own path on 5:2 finding out what works for them and what doesn’t. Suggestions are made and individuals encouraged without people telling anyone what to do. We recognise that people’s lifestyles can be very different and that 5:2 is worked through by them to fit their invidual lifestyle, philosophy and circumstances.

    Cheers,
    Merry

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