Hi all from a warm but eggstremely windy Methven.

Happy Easter all.

I just had to share the news, I have finally, yes, finally broken the 70 barrier and hit 69.9kg this morning, Easter Sunday of all days. Only just under I know but I’ll take it! (Just another 10 to go!?)

Sorry to have been MIA for so long, guess life just got in the way but I do read and catch up with posts most days, we have moved on from Bannockburn in Central Otago via Twizel, where we enjoyed a great weekend with a dear friend, of course, eating and drinking too much, then on to Methven where we are now. It feels quite strange being back here, this is where we spent 3.5 months in a first floor apartment when we first sold the Lodge just two years ago. This time we are house sitting, in a two and a half year old four bedroom house whilst the young owners are away on their honeymoon. We are sitting Bernie, a 10 month old Bernese Mountain Dog and two black cats, Steve and Floss. All of them are gorgeous and Bernie is such a gentle giant but we feel he has not been socialised well enough with other humans so it does get tricky if we meet others whilst out walking, he’s already about 40kg! Nonetheless, it does get us out walking a couple of times a day!

I have been using both 800 recipe books, the red one and the blue one and pretty much sticking to 16:8, keeping it low carb and drinking around 3ltrs of water a day, which I have to say is easier to manage in a house than in the van! OH is with me on this and has lost even more, especially this last week, now at a new time low for him which is so encouraging for both of us.

I hope to come back over the next couple of days and post some pics of the animals, plus a few extras, and reply to some of the interesting threads I have missed, but have to go for now the stuffed peppers with tuna are about ready, need to make the salad.

Have a great Easter everyone, where ever you may be,

Turn

Good afternoon everyone. Apologies for my absence, the busy days just caught up with me. I was so tired by Thursday that I didn’t even go for a walk and did just 6000 steps for the day – I can’t remember the last time I spent an entire day on the couch – apart from some baking that needed to be done. The long list of social events hasn’t abated and my waistline is going to need some serious attention after easter. The morning after my last couple of FD’s I have not had my usual flat tummy – that is not a good sign.

Cinque & Cali, I find I now take a similar approach to FDs that you have described. My maximum limit is 800 but I keep it as low as I can manage on any given FD and I end up somewhere in the 350-800 range. Some days being able to have that extra piece of fruit in the afternoon really makes the difference so I don’t mind being slightly flexible with the calorie range. It also makes it easier to accommodate eating out and still completing a FD. When I wasn’t exercising much and had a low TDEE, it was pretty important that I kept FD calories very low. But I usually do 80,0000 steps a week and that increases my TDEE by 400ish calories a day so I don’t stress about it. I don’t think it matters which calorie level you are comfortable with as long as the FDs are sustainable. I also find that those weeks when I want to add an extra FD it’s much easier to face on 800cals.

Cali, I loved Call the Midwife. They show it here on free-to-air tv and there seems to be a new series each year. The cast has changed a lot over the series and it’s been interesting seeing the impact of the early NHS and public hospital system on the old tradition of giving birth at home with a midwife.

Cinque, that Pastiera Napoletana sounds wonderful. I have spent the last couple of days baking too as I needed easter gifts and desserts to take to events over the long weekend.

Turn, lovely to hear from you. Congratulations on the new low in your weight, excellent work. How is your little dog getting along with the new housemates?

Thin, Well done on rescuing that NB that was stuck – hopefully the good karma will be paid back when you most need it. Do you get to see your daughter at all over easter?

Last week I had several cafe meals and resorted to the naked burger idea to deal with difficult menus. At one cafe I had a BLAT & chicken foccacia without the foccacia – so I had grilled chicken tenderloins and bacon with lettuce, tomato and avocado. The next day I had a naked veggie burger which was a broccoli-corn pattie, grilled haloumi, hummus, salad leaves and tomato. Given that it has been a hot week here this approach to the menu offerings helped a lot as it essentially gave me a salad plate with one or two hot protein components.
Unfortunately some of the baking I’ve done for easter dinner/brunch/gifts has also made it into my tummy. I was able to avoid the easter egg brownies (I don’t care for chocolate desserts/cakes), but the passionfruit blondies and the basque cheesecakes were a different story. Those I absolutely enjoyed – a little too much!

Hello to everyone else. Have a lovely easter.

https://imgur.com/a/lvZEnci
https://imgur.com/mRR02fq

Kia ora, fast friends!

My first post for awhile – been very busy around here. My weight seems to have plateaued around 96kg, even though I’m still doing my two fast days each week. The FD’s have been shifted around a bit as I’ve had family birthday celebrations and meals out for various celebrations but I always manage to shoehorn in my two days when I eat like a stick insect. The sternest test came when my wife laid on a lovely dinner for visiting rellies who stayed for 3 days and I decided it was fast day. Luckily there were leftovers, so I managed to grab a taste the next day! It was a great test of my self control, I guess.

My new bike group, the Shark Bell Riders, is going well. I took them away for their first “away ride” on Wednesday, 100km south of Dunedin to the beautiful Catlins for a 40km ride up hill and down dale. Two pix attached.

Tonight we have two special visitors – our two grandsons, one of whom has just turned 2. It’s his very first sleepover away from his loving Mum, and we’ve just finished Daylight Saving here, so tonight could be interesting, as he could wake up at 4am (he often wakes at 5am). However, he usually sleeps well at home so here’s hoping.

Today I caught some of the action on day 3 of the South Is surfing champs down the hill at St Clair Beach. The nor’west weather gave us warm 26degC temps but also some gales, which made it very tricky for the surfers, but entertaining for the Esplanade spectators.

That’s all the news from St Clair, folk – stay well everyone.

Ka kite ano, John

Mmm morning after a fasty fast day. My favourite 😀

LJoyce, so glad to see your post. Hooray for a day on the couch, when it is needed.
I hope you have an easy week and get that flat tummy back fast.
Good work with the naked burger idea.

Thin, you are part of a lovely community! And with most of a bottle of home made gin to enjoy through the summer. Life is good. I do hope it has been a lovely fast day.

Jony hi! Well done for sticking to the fast days with grace under pressure. All those celebrations would have stacked on a kilo or two if you weren’t doing your 5:2, I am sure.
I do hope young Mr 2 had a good night, or that you have plenty of coffee if he didn’t.
Great photos. Haha yes, I picked the electric bike rider courtesy of that easy hand on the hip.

Cali, so true about that chocolate platypus!
Farewell to McLeod’s Daughter’s, I do hope you find another long series to get into soon. It is such a pleasure.

I am very tired at the moment. I’d manage the end of daylight saving fine except that Miso the cat is awake at her usual time. She has been hassling me lately for about an hour before I let her out around 6:30 when the birds have woken. Already feeling guilty because Council rules are that she doesn’t go out until 7am. Ofcourse she is waking me an hour earlier, 4:30am, at the moment.

Cat people, can I teach an old cat new tricks? Should I lock her in the living area in the hope she settles down overnight? She is about 12, might her bladder be starting to trouble her? (I don’t have a litter tray, not enough room in my little flat). She miaows loudly and I know she will sit at the door and complain if I lock her out of my room. But I think I tried it a few years ago and it worked after a while.
(I often get up through the night, which wakes her too).

An afternoon nap is due today, and I might go hunting for wheat and ricotta later to get me out of the house. Victoria does seem to be ramping up vaccinations now so tomorrow I will book myself in to one of the local clinics.

Sending best wishes to you all

Jony, I’m anticipating many more requests for you to host the little lad at your house then! Good job keeping up with FDs. The fridge and freezer are your best friends for resisting temptations on a FD – it’s still there tomorrow and tastes even better. When I reached a plateau, I looked more closely at what was happening on NFDs and, for me, cutting out carbs did the trick. You don’t have to do it forever, it just kickstarts the loss if you can work out the culprit.

CalifD, laughing so hard at your use of subtitles for the Aussie show. I wish they had subtitles for Scottish shows here. I get about every third word, OH understands nothing and we have to keep pausing for me to explain.

Cinque, sorry you feel so tired. I hope you get your vacc organised very soon. I’m loving the longer evenings here. In WA, there have been several referendums about daylight savings. We once had a trial of it but it faded the cows and confused the curtains so was rejected again. Apparently, in WA’s recent state election, the ‘Daylight Savings Party’ won a seat with 96 votes due to the silly preference vote system – and the guy lives in America! I wish we could have referendums about more serious societal policy changes like they do in Switzerland before any law can be changed.

FD a major success. I’m in the 57s (just). We were on the move yesterday, five stiff locks kept me active. A massive plastic barrier thing got entwined in the propeller which took OH an hour to cut away because the water was so cold. We’re in the centre of Leicester but on a secure mooring requiring a CRT key to access the jetty so, other than the pigeons, it was a very peaceful night. We won’t stay here as it’s a covid hotspot.

LJ, that’s a relief, I was thinking 80,000 would be more like it! I kept looking out of the portholes thinking the blossoms are really pretty falling like snowflakes. And guess what? It’s actually snowing.

GDSA, Yes the easter bunny did drop a little too many Haigh’s chocs in my lap. I’ve already eaten half a hen (a chocolate one, not the roasting variety). I’m going to have to find a good hiding spot before bed and then hope for a bad case of forgetfulness.
GDSA did you keep a food diary when you did 5:2 the first time? If you did it might be worth reviewing those records and comparing it to your current daily fare. If there is a difference then it’s worth considering a return to what you have proof works for you. (I have kept a daily food diary for years and it has helped me several times to make comparisons when something isn’t working and I’m not sure what to change.)

Thin, I’ve given up understanding the weather, you are in the middle of spring and it’s snowing, we are in the middle of autumn and Adelaide has just had a 30C easter which had people flocking to beach – it looked more like an Aussie Christmas.

I finished my lent challenge yesterday. I am happy to report a minimum of 12 hours fasting every night (and often more), no late night snacks so that I could take strong pain killers. I’m also really pleased that the heat pads are working so well that I rarely need any pain relief at night and on those occasions that I do, a 1/4 dose is enough. I didn’t do as well on the late addition to my lent challenge – drinking enough water. I’ve decided to make that my April challenge, and I’m tackling it by requiring a glass of water to be drunk before any cup of tea. This is because thirst usually has me heading for the kettle not a glass of water. Hopefully it will reduce my caffeine consumption a bit too.

Good morning,

Jony, best grandkid!
Why did I get the wakey ones? Lucky they are so gorgeous in every other way, is all I can say. 😀

Yay, I had a better sleep last night. Shutting Miso out made a big difference. It is amazing how much more I have been able to do today.

LJoyce that cat tent is amazing. I am pretty sure Miso would hate it! But getting used to it from a young age would be the trick.

I did try and book my vaccine in a special immunisation clinic, but discovered the comprehensive list for 1b and I would need to hassle my GP or my specialist to prove I belong in 1b and I can’t see it is worth it unless I am going to my GP anyway, so I will wait for 2a.

Thin, blossom and snow! Both so very beautiful. You got the cold one though!

Gday, it is so good to hear from you, but what a hard time you are having with your weight. I had a similar thought to LJoyce, remembering that you had a big diet change and thinking that maybe it just doesn’t suit you.
I do so hope you can get onto a nice wave of losing weight and feeling much healthier and happier.
Hooray for that itch ointment!

Goodness the covid test results took their time! I guess because we had the big wave, they are back in about 8 hours here. Three days is a shocker.

Thanks LJoyce for that reminder about drinking a glass of water before anything else in the morning. I made that resolution sometime ago and then it evaporated. I did it today.

Congratulations on a good Lent.

I went food shopping quickly yesterday (aagh, mid afternoon, too busy) but didn’t get my wheat and ricotta. Actually I was noticing how my shopping has changed over the last year, fewer carbs! I wish I could transfer my better habits back to me about forty years ago!

Well, my productive morning is over and I am out of oomph. Just enough left to send good wishes to everyone. Ciao.

Morning all

Anzac, I hope your hand heals quickly. I’m the same as you, I’m back on healthy eating now after eating a fair amount of chocolate and hot cross buns over the Easter holidays. It’s so hard to kick the sugar habit. I can go weeks without eating any sugar, but even if I eat a little I seem to lose control and just go crazy 🙁

Still flat out at work but I’m looking forward to 10 days off over the school holidays and ANZAC day. We’re going up to Hanmer Springs for a few days with stop offs at Geraldine, Ashburton and Christchurch on the way up and back.

I’m back riding to and from work again now, I’m not going crazy like I was in February, I’m sticking to about 10-15 kilometers a day, but with a couple of hills to climb that’s enough exercise to get my 30 minutes a day. I stopped recording how much I ride because I seem to go a bit nuts when I’m recording numbers, I racked up 2,000 kilometers in January and February alone, so now I’m just riding for the fun of it and for the exercise rather than just to get my numbers up.

Have a great day everyone and hopefully things will ease off so I can post a bit more regularly.

Good morning. Temperatures are rising after two days of snow showers. A kingfisher landed on our mooring line right outside the galley porthole and I had a face to face encounter for a few seconds. Magic.

Anzac, is your hand healing alright? How did you burn it? You mentioned that you’re a bit accident-prone. What happened?

Cinque, here’s to a mask-wearing home help. And that a suitable vaccine comes your way soon.

Neil, sugar is so addictive. Usually not worth the pain.

Morning all. MIA as I’ve wrestled 4 grandchildren, at different times. My DD is finishing the last year of her masters, so we are doing much more than usual with the little girls. And we’ve been having the 2 yer old as the little man goes back and forth about his broken elbow which is now pinned for 4 weeks, to allow it to heal.

I’m in Week 10 of the Fast800 and my loss has slowed to snail pace. It makes no sense because there’s such a calorie deficit, but it is what it is and I’m determined to see it through. I’ve lost 9.5 kilos, and my friend exactly 10. She was ‘lucky’ (no, definitely not!) to have had to have a procedure to remove precancerous growths from her bottom lip, and the only pay-off so far (apart from no longer having them) is a rapid weight loss acceleration as she sips milk shakes and soups, as it heals.

It’s so lovely here to see sunshine after what seems like weeks of rain.
School holidays, so we took the little girls and the dog to Sandgate beach yesterday for fish and chips (I had grilled barramundi and salad), and a walk. But it was low tide (it goes out half a kilometre) so we let Rosy off lead and she had the time of her life, and so did we. Chasing a seagull is as good as it gets for a red setter.about

Anzac, how is your hand? Burns are just so painful.

So now we have the Astra Zeneca vaccine banned for under 50 year olds. As the good Dr Norman Swan pointed out last night, there wasn’t enough vaccine for them anyway, so there should be adequate supplies of Pfizer by the time the younger cohort is due to be vaccinated. I feel a certain lack of confidence in our rollout, I must say.

Cali, the daily numbers being vaccinated in the US is impressive…ditto in the UK Thin.

How are you going Cinque? Home help been and gone, and a lovely fresh apartment to fast in? I hope Miso is adjusting to daylight saving.

Neil, easy to get obsessed with numbers when you put in so many kilometres. Your rides to work sound just right.

Jony, your group rides sound so companionable…I would love to do that ….if only I could ride a pushbike. Oddly I have an open motor bike licence, but the peddling sort ….I just couldn’t avoid riding into things.

I have invited two brothers and wives for afternoon tea, have been to the shops to replenish the milk the grandies finished off yesterday and just got out the recipe book to bake a cake, and discovered I have no butter. Neither of us uses it any more, and I always have a kilo in the freezer….except today. My son & DIL brought us a dozen Melting Moment biscuits from a market during their weekend up at Tambourine, but I froze them so I wasn’t tempted. The visitors can have those, and I am about to make Anzac biscuits using olive oil. It works – I do them for my vegan brother, from time to time. I’d best get cracking.

Enjoy a wonderful weekend, where ever you are (Turn loved your post ….will read again and reply next time).

Good evening all.
The autumn weather has finally made an appearance here, cool and damp today. Good for the garden.

I finally realised why I’ve felt so tired in recent days – I had a lung infection developing. It showed itself fully yesterday and I started antibiotics immediately. It always amazes me how quickly I start to feel better once I start the antibiotics – I’m much improved tonight and even had the energy to want to go for a walk this afternoon, that’s the first time in a week I felt like walking. I had to walk alone though as I’m staying away from others for a few days.

Lindsay, I hope the afternoon tea with your brothers went wonderfully. If you are ever wondering about cake baking without any butter again, it is usually ok to substitute a mild flavoured oil for the butter in a cake (it works for normal buttercake style cakes).
I’ve been thinking about your comments about little weight loss on 800 calories a day lately. I do remember when I did the 800cal program several years ago, they said it was specifically designed for people who had a BMI in the obese category or higher (all of my group were morbidly obese when we started). The program was not recommended for BMIs below 30, we were told to switch to a higher calorie program (1000 or 1200) when we reached that level. I haven’t read MMs new book on Fast 800, but if your BMI is under 30, it might be worth checking to see if he mentions whether the daily 800 cal that you are doing is suitable for lower BMIs. I did have a look on the Fast 800 website and it doesn’t cover this, there is just one mention of the program being tested on people with a high BMI, without specifying what “high” means.

Anzac, I hope that painful burn is healing – I can empathise with your clumsy tendencies. I’m very pleased to hear that your first system release went well.

Cinque, I hape you had a lovely grand daughter day – I had to look up Teeny Tiny Stevies as I hadn’t heard of them.
I hadn’t realised there was even such a thing as a cat tent before seeing these. I was finding it hard to imagine having a cat in the house and having any control over where they went, especially when I was sleeping. The tent option has heloed with that.

Thin, lets hope the appearance of a kingfisher heralds the true arrival of spring weather.

Neil, I’m glad you are getting back into your old routine again. I am another who struggles with sugar. It the moment I’m struggling to stay away from the easter eggs, despite hiding them in the dining room cupboard amongst the rarely used good china.

Well, time for a decaf tea and an early night for me. I’m hoping to be well enough by Tuesday to do a day of school holiday babysitting.
Sunday FD for tomorrow.

A quick hello from a sunny mooring in beautiful rural Leicestershire with the cutest lambs leaping into the air. It’s been a cold start to April but temperatures are finally rising. FD for me, chicken something. The UK is expected to reach herd immunity to covid on Tuesday. Pubs, restaurants, retail all re-opening tomorrow. Life is good.

Morning all, from a chilly 16 degree Brisbane. Autumn is making her presence felt … time to close the high windows overnight, I suppose.

LJ, as always, than you for you thoughts and research about my tediously slow weight loss. I am in the overweight category, so perhaps it’s time to add in a few more calories. My friend’s BMI is still in the obese category but only by one or two points, and we’d agreed, before I read your post, that we’d stay with 12 weeks on Fast800. It’s only 2 weeks to go, then I’ll increase my calorie level gradually to 1200 a day, until I lose the last 5 kilos (or whatever is left after the next two weeks of Fast 800). I didn’t see anything in Dr M’s book about suitability for lower BMI either.

My afternoon tea with the brothers went wonderfully well. I found a small cake in the freezer and my son’s melting moments (my very slim brothers and sisters in law all have very sweet tooths…or should that be teeth?), but all agreed the Anzacs were the best thing. I also cut the sugar from 3/4 of a cup to 1/4 with no appreciable difference in taste. My DD makes a wonderful cake with light olive oil – I think I’ll use it in future….it will make baking for my other vegan brother and SIL much easier.

We had a lovely day yesterday with my Melbourne relatives (whose mother died last year) and the Gold Coast branch of the family. So precious, this time. It was quite emotional, as you’d expect, but so affirming. So many of the younger ones came too, and it is wonderful that these links are extending through the generations.

Rosy is in season, so she spent the day on the back verandah, and was beside herself when we came home, but seemed to have managed being left. I’m disappointed that she’ll miss a special dog show this weekend….some people take dogs in season, but I don’t need the stress….I just think it would be quite difficult to manage her and the attention.

Gosh I am rambling on this morning.

How are you going Cinque? Enjoying your post FD breakfast? Glad Miso is learning to cope with the loss of daylight saving. Rosy got me up at 5.40 this morning. Both brrrr and grrrr. But she was desperate for a wee. I let her into the courtyard (grassed and paved) and I went back to bed, and she was snuggled up in her indoor bed when I got up at 7.

Thin, here’s to such an efficient immunisation program, and fingers crossed for no more outbreaks. Fancy seeing that wee bird? And leaping lambs. Nature truly is so good for the soul.

Turn, congratulations on breaking into the 60s, even after all that socialising. It is a lovely, lovely number. Your mountain dog walks sound challenging ….a dog that size really needs that socialising, as you’ve identified.

Cali, LJ, I loved Call the Midwife. The final series has just finished here, but they are showing repeats over on a commercial channel. My heathen OH didn’t warm to it. Quite liked the content, but groaned and rolled his eyes at the religious bits. I have a friend who was a nurse in the east end in the 70s and she says she’s experienced just about every scenario in the program.

Anzac, good to hear that your ‘go live’ went well. I was thinking about you and your friend catching up, and deciding you both had to do something about last year’s weight gain. That is exactly what my friend and I did, and it’s worked very well for us. Both a little over 10 kilos down. Is that something you and your friend could do together? We text each other each morning with our weight loss (or gain), and encourage each other if it’s the latter. We talk about problems by text and occasional phone calls. I keep a spreadsheet which I email to her weekly, and we can see patterns emerging. Both of us feel as we enter Week 11 of the program that we have not only lost weight, we have learned how to manage it for ever more. We’d both dieted (and regained) successfully before, but not wanting to let the other down by wavering has been the key this time. Just a thought.

And on that thought – of I go to start the day, which involves the two little girls, a trip to the nursery for vegetable seedlings and soil, and a playground visit on the way home.

Enjoy your day.

Good morning all from a suddenly cold Sydney. It was only 11 degrees when we took Maxx for his walk at 7.00am

Thanks for your good wishes about my burn; I managed to touch the back of my hand on the top elements in our small oven. It took a long time to heal as I found it hard to stop it from getting wet but it has healed nicely now, albeit with a scar

Oh no, another dratted lung infection LJ. It sounds like the AB’s are doing their thing quickly which is fantastic.

Cinque, we had one nice leisurely day last Monday before they heaped a whole lot of new scope on us. No surprise but still disappointing. If it wasn’t for the permanent WFH and the fact that I enjoy the work I would leave. I am so very glad that lovely Miso is happy with the new sleeping arrangements and you are getting a better sleep too.

Such terrific news about the UK Thin and Leicestershire sounds beautiful. I hope spring has finally sprung over there. Autumn finally has here – although the forecast for Wednesday is 29 so one last hit of summer heat. We were still swimming daily up until yesterday.

Feel free to post daily Neil. You will ace this, just like you aced everything else. Good luck! I need to get my bread cravings under control.

Sorry that you had to miss the dog show Lindsay but yes, better to keep Rosy away from other dogs at this time. How frustrating that your weight loss has slowed so much but I do think LJ’s advice is good. How is your little grandson’s elbow?

Must run – take care all

Morning all. I did well yesterday. I had some fruit and vegetables for lunch with some coconut yoghurt, then roast chicken and pumpkin with sautéed silverbeet for dinner with some prunes as a sweet dessert. Total of just under 800 calories.

Today I’ve made some lentil dhal with a couple of boiled eggs for lunch.

When I first started fast800 a couple of years back the first 3 of 4 days of reduced calories and low sugar/carbs were really hard and then it got really easy. Hopefully if I can slog through another 3 days I’ll manage to break the cycle of evening carb/sugar binges

I had an emotional morning this morning. Our beloved fluffball cat has been missing for almost 5 days and we hadn’t seen her anywhere. We’ve walked the neighbourhood calling her, talked to neighbours, put up posts on all the community social network pages, and yet no sign. Last night I remembered that the children of the elderly lady who lived behind us and who moved into a rest home several months ago had been around to her house a while ago to clean up and get it ready for sale. This morning I went round and walked around her house calling out for our cat. I heard a faint squeak coming from under her house. The door to the basement was locked. I had no way of contacting them, and I had no idea when they would be home, so I tried unscrewing the bolt that was locking the door. I couldn’t get the screws right out but luckily I had loosened it enough that when I forced the door with my shoulder it popped open and our lost cat came trotting out. My wife and boys were smothering her when I bought her home, but all she wanted was food and water, having not eaten or drank anything for almost 5 days. I got my wife to write a note saying that I would come round this evening and replace the bolt and lock that I had broken.

Morning all.

Slight slip yesterday but not serious. I had my dhal and eggs for lunch, some fish curry for dinner and then a bowl of black currants and coconut milk for dessert, but then I did some baking for the kids’ lunches and couldn’t resist having a couple of squares of the quince shortcake slice I made. A total of around 1600 calories for the day. Weigh in today at 92.9 so back into the 92s, an improvement on 3 weeks ago when I was mid 94s.

Ljoyce, I hope you feel better soon, it’s no fun being unwell.

Have a great day everyone.

Hi Intesha, I’m really sorry to hear that, I really hope things improve for you soon.

Hi Intesha,

So sorry to read your post, my heart really does go out to you, I would be there in an instant to help out if I could. Please try and stay strong and ask for more help from family members/community support groups/medical profession/nurses help, you really do need more help and support, reach out on here more often, at least it might help to lift your spirits.

Heartfelt wishes flying across the ditch, Turn

Evening all

Decent day today. I missed my morning tea so I grabbed a small packet of pork crackle around 11:30. I had Dhal, fruit and veg for lunch, home made roast pumpkin and capsicum soup with a leftovers vege patty for dinner, then the sugar cravings hit. I managed to restrict myself to a small peach, a slice of pineapple, and half a square of my quince slice. Total of around 1500 calories.

Intesha, I’m so glad to hear that you found a nice place to live that suits your needs. But sad to hear about the problems with your dad’s legs. Is the cellulitis something that will improve over time? I agree with aTurn and the others who suggested asking for help from family members/community support groups/medical profession/nurses and such. Even a few hours away might give you some relief from feeling so overwhelmed with everything that is going on. Moving house in itself always seems to be so stressful. There’s always so much to do to get settled, figure out where to put things and to learn where the shops and such are located in a new neighborhood. Having your father needing full time care on top of all that must make it so stressful. Wouldn’t it be nice if we all lived close by and could pop in and help or run errands? But you know we will offer a place here to discuss what is going on, or just a shoulder to cry on when you feel overwhelmed. Sending hugs your way.

Neil, such an amazing story about finding your missing cat. Thank goodness you remembered the vacated house! Cats are just too curious sometimes.

Cinque, I’m glad Miso is adjusting to being locked out of your bedroom at night. One suggestion that has worked well for us in the past is to blow up a couple of balloons and tie a string on each. Hang them on the doorknob of your bedroom door, so they hang about face height to Miso. Cats usually are afraid of moving balloons, and if they pop one, they almost certainly are. It’s worked well here at times to keep the cat away from the door at night.
We have good tap water but buy sparkling water in bottles or cans too. Sometimes it’s a lot more enticing to drink that, rather than plain tap water. I worry more about all the plastic bags we get from the grocery stores here. Previously, we were able to bring our own reusable bags for groceries and in Calif were charged 10 cents per bag for their plastic bags. Now, with Covid, they are afraid of bringing the virus into the store and we had to go back to using the store bags. We reuse them for disposing of the papers on the bird room floor and other cleaning jobs, but still have so many. I think it will probably change soon since they are saying it’s not common to spread the virus from surfaces.

LJ, I’m sorry to hear that you have a lung infection again. I hope the second antibiotic gets rid of that. You’ll have to go back to house walking for exercise. Definitely not as entertaining as being outdoors.

Anzac, I’m sorry to hear about your burned hand. I did that a couple months ago, hit the upper part of the oven when getting something out, but it was about midway up my arm and only a small stripe of skin. It stayed red for a long time and was very painful for a while, but didn’t leave a scar. Now I’m not saying you’re accident prone, but if I ever get over there and we go into a tall building, I may not want to take the same lift as you. 😁

Thin, we are already into season 4 of Call the Midwife and are really enjoying it. The episodes have become quite sad lately though. I’m sure that’s what life was like in some of the poor areas around London but I hope they bring in a bit more levity.
Great to see how many people the UK is vaccinating. Watching the numbers of new cases falling is good proof that the vaccines are working, even spacing the doses extra weeks apart. We’re making good progress here too, but still so many more to vaccinate. Anyone over 16 will be able to get a jab in California beginning tomorrow. That’s as long as the supplies hold. So far it has been pretty encouraging. We had our first get together without masks with a neighbor on Saturday. All of us have been fully vaccinated, but I have to admit to feeling a little nervous still. She came for lunch and stayed a few hours. Otherwise, we’re wearing masks all the time outside the house and being very careful.

Take care and stay well, everyone. I read all of your posts even when I don’t post for a while.

Good evening all. Finally back. Combination of a virus/ sinus infection leading to asthma, all while trying to do transcripts.

My primary supervisor said at our February meeting that they were all to be done before the next meeting in March – managed it, but with being ill as well, it was exhausting. Each transcript ended up needing 4-5 hours of intense concentration, both listening and then typing. Glad they’re done. Since then I’ve proof-read the lot – fortunately not as intense and much faster to do – and can now move on to other aspects of the doctorate work. Yay!

Cinque, re the Covid-19 vaccine, I initially couldn’t find any GP surgery that was giving it, or if they were, it was only to their own patients. Then I tried the LaTrobe University Medical Centre. No problem getting an appointment, plus they have had cancellations but doses ready to give, so you could possibly get in quite quickly. I told my doctor about the clinic last Friday, and when I saw him today, he thanked me, as he’d phoned Monday and was given the vaccine Monday. My first jab was on Tuesday, second one early July. It’s the AstraZeneca vaccine, but who cares, we’re not in the ultra-minimal “danger” age range, and I’d rather be vaccinated sooner than later. Just make sure the vaccine is separated by at least 2 weeks away from the flu vaccine, that’s all.
Anyway, all of that is to say, if you want somewhere that seems to have vaccines available relatively easily, try that clinic. They are on the corner of Kingsbury Drive and Plenty Rd, but you enter the uni. at the first set of traffic lights along Kingsbury Dve from Plenty Rd. You only need to drive a short distance into the uni. and it’s the second turn left to get to parking near the Medical Centre and Private Hospital. Clinic phone number 9473-8885. Good luck! 🙂

Good to read all the posts. With all that’s been going on, I’ve proven demonstrably that stress and I don’t mix well for weight loss or even maintenance. Now the stress is reduced, plus I am well on the way to recovery from the virus, post-viral fatigue, etc., I’m girding my loins yet again to begin the weight loss journey. Starting weight 84.6 kg (last Saturday), and for accountability, I’ll post my weight here weekly for a while. Sigh!

Neilithicman, I sympathise with your struggles, and share your sweet tooth. It’s just not worth regaining, to have to lose the weight again. Just glad I still have a (few) fat clothes still around that I can wear, but the wardrobe is quite limited.

LJoyce, hope you are successfully fighting the chest infection. Your walking goal has reminded me that I need to step up my daily walking and exercises, too.

Intesha, I sympathise with the emotional weight you are carrying, caring for your dad. Has he been assessed for any kind of care package? If you can arrange for a carer to come for a few hours once a week, you could have that as your “do what I like” time. Surely some kind of respite like that is available. Whatever, if you need to let off steam, this forum is here.

CalifDreamer, Glad you enjoyed McLeod’s Daughter, and I chuckled over your use of subtitles. I can remember being in Hawaii once. I was with a group of Americans and saw an Aussie friend. For fun, we said a few sentences to each other in broad Aussie slang, then I asked the others how much they’d understood – none! I translated. It made us all laugh.

Thin, glad you’re still enjoying your adventures on the canals of Britain. Your descriptions certainly add colour to this forum.

G’DayFromSA, so sorry to read that you’ve been struggling with the weight loss. I commiserate, but not as a fellow sufferer, because I haven’t really even been trying. We just have to persevere. It’s good that your gym placement was delayed. It would have been difficult for you, if it had been earlier.

LindsayL, sad you had to miss the show, but good to protect Rosy from unwanted breeding. Any hive-robbing happening pre-winter?

jonykiwi, oh, the joy of being able to sleep to a reasonable hour, even when babysitting a 2-yr-old! 🙂

Turn, haven’t read your post – too many to go back to – but have you acquired a new fur baby, or are you just dog-minding? Good exercise either way.

Anzac65, your work is finally “live”? Hope it’s progressing without too many teething problems.

Penguin, hope you’re doing okay, and settled in your new home.

Hello to anyone I’ve missed.

It’s nice to be back, hopefully a lot more regularly.

Good afternoon everyone.

Neil, I know it’s frustrating when you have a good food day only to blow it at the end. The only thing you can do in hindsight is to learn something from it. If there were any circumstances, triggers, self-talk that might have contributed then you have a chance to put a plan in place for the next time those things occur. It’s a long slow process teasing out all the things that send us searching for sweet treats, but having a better understanding does help.

Betsy, how wonderful that those transcripts are finally finished. I hope it’s reduced some of the pressure you have been under for some time.
Very glad to hear you have had your first vaccine dose.
How is Wilbur?

Cali, your state seems to be steaming ahead with it’s vaccine program. I heard the other day that even teenagers could get a vaccine in California now – we haven’t finished vaccinating elderly nursing home residents yet!
I am doing a little hallway walking, but I’m low on energy with this infection and am struggling to get to 5000 steps a day. It’s going to take me a while to get back to my previous activity levels I think.
I haven’t heard of that trick with the balloons, I’ll remember that.

Cinque, I hope you had a wonderful zoom catchup with your sisters.

I am still stuck at home isolating. My breathing is still laboured and my temperature still high. If I’m not better by Monday when my second course of antibiotics ends, I’ll have to go to the GP. I had a covid test yesterday afternoon (negative), so that the GP practice doesn’t panic if I show up with respiratory symptoms. I have been doing 2 FDs per week but I am eating too much on the other days given the lack of exercise. I’m not good at sticking to a sedentary TDEE – it’s a shock being reminded of how little I get to eat when I’m not doing 10k steps a day. Spending my days curled up on the couch, so near to the kitchen does not help. The presence of easter eggs did not help – despite hiding them they are now all gone – eaten not binned. I hate that old habit that insists the best way of getting rid of temptation is to eat it out of existence. Even being aware of those bad patterns doesn’t help me sometimes.

Take care all, hope you are having a lovely weekend.

Hi Cinque, our posts crossed.
I did not go to the memorial service yesterday, but was thankfully able to watch it on an online feed.
For most of last year the supermarkets here would let us bring our own reusable shopping bags, but they wouldn’t touch them. Which meant packing our own groceries. You don’t realise that it takes skill to properly pack groceries at speed until forced to do it yourself! I was hopeless – way too slow. I was quite relieved when they started packing groceries for me again late last year.
Thanks for the get well wishes. I’m doing my best, but my body is ignoring me.