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Hello Southern Hemispherites!!

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This topic contains 27,911 replies, has 831 voices, and was last updated by  Anzac65 1 day, 18 hours ago.

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  • Neilithicman

    11:27 am

    6 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Evening all

    Well I got the painting done this evening. The colour we chose was a green colour called Feijoa, but I call it “Snifter green” because it’s almost the same colour as the old mint Snifter lollies (not sure if you guys had that in Aussie). Tomorrow will be skirting and architraves and curtains then I’m finished.

    I’ve been listening to a podcast and watching some videos from a British PT called James Smith recently. He can be a bit of an arse sometimes and is a bit crude and swears a lot, but his vids and pocasts are all information based. He has a healthy attitude towards body image and a healthy hate of social influencers who promote an unhealthy body image. One podcast I was listening to today was quite cool. He was comparing having junk food to go on holiday. He said that holidays are important to break the monotony of normal life, but if you go on holiday you have to either pay for it before you leave or stick it on the credit card and pay for it when you get back. Same with junk food. It’s good to eat some foods you love that might not be the healthiest food now and then, but you’ve got to pay for it by either eating fewer calories leading up to it so you’re still in calorie deficit, or you reduce your calories after to keep in calorie deficit.

    Have a great one everyone.

    Cinque

    1:10 am

    7 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Goodmorning,
    Needing to be cheerfully hungry for the next three or four hours after a perfectly wonderful breakfast an hour ago (I really fancy a croissant, but not at all necessary and none in the house). I am having a second pot of coffee though.

    Hello Anzac, I hope you are having a lovely sunny morning (cloudy and grey again here, sigh). You will feel so happy when your clothes start feeling loose again.

    Is your pain getting better? I do hope so. Best wishes to your veins too.

    If you get SBS on Demand you will find Rick Stein’s Cornwall there.
    And if you like Middle Eastern Food, Shane Delia’s latest series ‘A Middle East Feast’ is there too. It makes my Middle Eastern cooking feel very basic, so I have found it inspiring and even bought some salca because of it.

    Yes, the food problems are tricky for my daughter’s family. That link describes it well LJ, and DD is a master at sneaking in veggies. I think that is the only way Ms 6 gets any vegetable apart from cucumber. But luckily she does eat plenty of fruit. (Ms4 is at the stage where she won’t touch anything that has a speck of green but I’ve known many 4yo’s go through that so hopefully it is short term.)

    I love what you say about mushrooms and eggplant, they are so umami, as well as having rich texture. I’ve been interested to hear Adam Liaw talk about the amount of umami cabbage adds to soups and stews. He even said he thinks it adds more than meat. I am going to test it out.

    Turn, hooray for an evening post from you.
    Chocolate beetroot cake was my speciality!
    But yes, hold the baking! I hope you are off that pesky plateau very soon.
    I do hope you find some gorgeous skorts to replace the ones that are ending up around your ankles!

    What a pity your meal in ‘Padstein’ was a disappointment.

    Impressive work with your freezer. I pulled out frozen chicken breasts yesterday and I am going to make a ‘greens and chicken’ casserole today. I think. Still deciding.
    I am rather pleased with myself as I bought a whole chicken the other week and cut it into pieces myself for the first time ever. It is cheaper and works well to give me a variety of chicken pieces to play with.

    Neil, hooray for the painting done! The colour sounds beautiful. I haven’t heard of snifters, but while our similar ‘cool mints’ were white, you could buy green ones, and they were a lovely colour.

    PT James Smith sounds interesting. A very good analogy for junk food!
    I am so enjoying the Van Tulleken podcast about Ultra Processed Food and the latest ep is all about the tricks played on our brains. So interesting. https://pod.link/chrisxand/episode/f08ecff9447e3a0757627160eb10792e
    The aim of the podcast is to put us off junk food, and it is working for me!

    Cheers all

    Charlie G

    1:55 am

    7 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Good Morning One and All,
    End of first two weeks of FD, OH has lost 1kg and I have lost 2kg, I had forgotten how good it feels when the weight starts to come off.
    Cinque, no I hardly put any weight back on, just a kilo here and there, and then I would be really strict on what I ate to get it back off.
    Lindsay, yes we both watched Rick Stein’s Cornwall, OH was commenting on how much it had all changed since he was last there in the mid 1970’s.
    Anzac, thanks for the warm welcome, must be so frustrating to have lost the weight only to gain it back, but you know you can do it.
    Another cold and cloudy day here, thankfully no rain, as you could bog a duck on our farm at present.
    Now a bit of sun would be great to get the grass growing for the girls, so we don’t spend so much time feeding them and can get back to other farm jobs.
    Off to feed now, hope everyone has a great weekend.

    Lindsay L.

    2:13 am

    7 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Gosh it is cold this morning. Colder now at 8am than it was a couple of hours ago when I first got up. I suppose having the back door open for you know who doesn’t help ….but she does like running in and out. She’s a devil – I looked up from my computer the other morning to see her help herself to an apple from the fruit bowl, before taking it out to one of the very comfy chairs on the verandah, where she munched away while taking in the scenery. (I’m talking about my dog Charlie – not a human, though very similar in many ways).

    I’m feeling sad today after losing a good friend to cancer. The doctors had given him a few months, but it wasn’t to be, and he went downhill very fast. Another sad funeral, made more so by this dreadful virus and lockdowns.

    Cinque, hiding veges is tricky. I agree with LJ …all good strategies. Would Rose’s OH and little one drink a smoothie, with blended berries? I also blend lentils to add to a traditional spag bol sauce …the girls could always spot a pop of orange carrot, or a little brown speck. Mr 7 has always been an odd child, foodwise. Eats salad over everything else, and a real treat for him is when he goes into the garden and finds a cherry tomato. His 3 year old sister, on the other hand……

    Anzac, the Rick Stein Cornwall series is still on SBS … and you’ll get back episodes I’d imagine on SBS’s version of Iview.

    Anzac, I wonder if you’re not pushing yourself too hard, and that is why you are having some difficulty with the program. Would a more gentle approach work? Go back to the basics, with 2 x 800 fast days, and the rest healthy Med. style eating. You have so many stresses in your life at the moment, that setting yourself very hard targets almost sets you up to fail, which is more dispiriting. Feel free to tell me to mind my own business….that’s okay. I just feel for you when I read your story, and how hard it has been.

    Hope you all have a good day.

    Lindsay L.

    2:17 am

    7 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Just saw your post Cinque – your DD is way ahead of me.

    Lindsay L.

    2:42 am

    8 Aug 21

    Permalink

    I’m taking a break from doing my tax. What a struggle it is for me …but I always feel good when I finish and get it away.

    So, our lockdown finishes this afternoon. Not such good news in other east coast states. Hope you are all okay.

    By pure chance, we had just pulled up at our favourite exercise area yesterday (the beautifully named Rainbow Forest Park) as my son and his two little ones were getting out of their car. They’d given DIL two hours to get some intensive marking done. We had a lovely distanced walk with them …Rosy found the creek, and Mr almost 7 found a rope swing over a pool in the creek, and he and Miss 3 had a great swing over the water. My heart was in my mouth as Miss 3 launched herself …but DS was watching and ready to jump if she fell into the quite shallow water. It was a wonderful, serendipidous meeting that made me feel quite normal, with all that is going on around us.

    My weigh-in this morning was very satisfying too …down 1.4 from last Sunday’s weight, with 3.8 kilos to go. I regret my loose July that saw me gain, but it was a salutory lesson not to let my guard down, and that I need to be well below my trigger weight once I finish, because the scales will zoom up again as my weight finds its new normal.

    Charlie, is there a better feeling than watching those scales go down? congratulations to you both.

    Back to the tax …my task for the day.

    Enjoy your Sunday, all.

    CalifDreamer

    7:43 pm

    8 Aug 21

    Permalink

    G’day y’all! Cinque, I will trade you a few of our hummingbirds for a few of your cockatoos. Cinque, Lindsay’s idea of putting veggies in a smoothie for the grandies could be a good solution. Blueberries can hide a multitude of green veggies as can beetroot if they aren’t opposed to those. I don’t use any milk or yogurt, just water and ice.

    Charlie, I’ve been here about 3 or 4 years, apparently after you left, but glad to see you back. I lost about 12kg to get to goal and kept it off a couple years until the pandemic when eating was one of the few forms of entertainment when being locked down for months on end. I gained back what I lost and had been maintaining at the higher weight. I have been “trying” one thing and another but have fallen off the horse and climbed back on so many times that the horse tired of me and ran away. 🙂 I decided last week that I need to get back to the old 5:2 that worked for me and get rid of these 12kg. I’m tired of not being able to get up without hanging on to something and pulling myself up when sitting on the floor. I’m tired of the achy shoulder and back from doing that. I don’t want to buy any more big clothes to cover the bulges and I want to be able to wear all my thin clothes again. So tomorrow I will begin week 2 and see what the final total was for this week.

    Congrats to Neil and Gday for the great weight loss. You both are doing great. Neil, it sounds like the reno is just about finished. The paint sounds lovely. I hope we will see some pictures soon!

    Lindsay, I am so sorry to hear about the loss of your friend. It’s never easy to lose someone but with all the lockdowns and things that entails, it’s even harder. Hugs to you. Loved the story about Rosie stealing apples.

    Anzac, it’s good to hear from you. I keep thinking of you when I read about all the Covid cases in the Sydney area. Glad that you’re both jabbed and being careful. Don’t overlook masks. We don’t leave home without them. The numbers are surging over here again, even in our semi rural county. Still way too many unvaccinated people here. With the Delta variant becoming dominant, it’s especially scary.

    LJ, happy to hear that SA is free of lockdowns but glad to hear that you are wearing a mask when you are indoors in public places anyway. I’ve been doing that since this thing started. It’s such an easy thing to do.

    We’re having a terrible time with bush fires here in Calif. fortunately they are far enough from us not to be a worry, but close enough to cause terrible smoke conditions, depending on which way the winds are blowing. Yesterday was a bad day where the sky looked brown and the sun shining in the windows was orange. We had to keep the windows closed until around 11:00 at night when the winds shifted. Today is much clearer so far. We keep watching a local FB site that details any new fires. We’re always so relieved when we find there aren’t any close.
    While all of you are happy with the longer days and shifting angle of the sun, I’m happy about the days getting shorter since we’re still getting a lot of very hot days. Everything is so dry here, but they’re having flooding in other parts of the country. The news from around the world looks like we aren’t the only ones.

    We’ve only got 3 more episodes of 800 Words left to watch. Always Greener only has a couple left too. But, thanks to Neil’s suggestion, we now have lots of episodes of a new one, Packed to the Rafters. Doctor Doctor, which is called The Heart Guy here, just had a new season added. It’s quirky, but I enjoy it. We’ll soon have seen all of the Aussie and NZ series from the past 20 years if this pandemic goes on much longer.

    Neilithicman

    10:07 pm

    8 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Morning all

    Well I had a huge binge day on Saturday, for some reason I just couldn’t stop myself from eating. Thanks to my weekly tracking I still have a chance to hit my weekly calorie goal. I ate 600 calories yesterday. I just had a bowl of vegetable soup and some home made focaccia bread, and a couple of coffees during the day. If I have back to back 800 calorie days today and tomorrow I’ll still hit my goal of averaging 1800 calories a day.

    I didn’t get the skirting and architraves done over the weekend. I got them all cut and ready to go up, but the weather was too cold to paint them (we actually got snow both days of the weekend). Hopefully I can get it done this week.

    Cali, I hope you stay safe from the fires. The flames are often not the only problems. I remember when we had bush fires over here a while ago they had several hospitalisations for severe asthma attacks that had been triggered by all the smoke and ash in the atmosphere.

    Lindsay, sounds like you’re on a roll! good luck with the last 3.8kg, I’m sure you’ll knock it on the head pretty quickly.

    Charlie, congrats to you and your other half too, 2kg in 2 weeks is awesome progress.

    Cinque, thanks for the podcast suggestion. I’ll give it a spin when I’ve finished my latest batch I’m catching up on.

    Well, wish me luck for my fast days, it’s been a while since I’ve attempted 3 back to back fast days. It’s certainly put me off the notion of having such a big binge day again any time soon.

    Have a great one everyone.

    Helen Kate

    3:10 am

    9 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Hello all

    I am sitting on my front porch in the beautiful sunshine with Paddy sleeping near my feet. I am minding him today while my sister and brother-in-law are at work.

    I am a little tired as I had trouble getting to sleep last night. Sometimes my feet are restless and achy and that’s how it was last night. A bit of residual neuropathy from them 5 years ago and a bit of the genetic inheritance from my mum, who suffered from restless legs, and a bit of just getting older. I am sorry to report that I got up at midnight and ate a lot of crunchy brown rice biscuits with butter and vegemite. My will-power seems non-existent at that hour. Probably the best thing to do is just not to have anything crunchy, like those biscuits, in the house. It’s the savoury crunchy things that do me in!

    I have lost a little weight, half a kilo according to the scales at the local chemist, but the tum is still very much there.

    I enjoy reading the messages and have a feeling that there’s a feeling of resolution and low-key optimism, despite covid and fires and falling-off-horses.

    Neil, good luck with your fast days. And you are doing such mighty work on the house front.

    Calif, awful to hear about the fires in your part of the world. Glad you are safe but the air quality issue sounds dreadful. Good luck with the good old 5:2. It is what I am doing too. I like its simplicity.

    Lindsay, I loved reading of your encounter with son and grandchildren at the Rainbow Forest Park. Precious times. Congrats on the weight loss.

    Hello Charlie, I am a relative newcomer here so our paths have not crossed before. Sounds as if you are doing really well. I am wondering whereabouts in Victoria you live. And I gather you have a farm – is that right?

    LJoyce, I felt the same as you about our recent one week lockdown – I welcomed it! But as you say it would be a different matter if it went on and on. I do hope things start go improve in Sydney. On a selfish level I do want see my daughter at Christmas!

    Cinque, what a terrific support you must be for your daughter and her family. It sounds pretty challenging for your daughter and it must make a big difference to her to have you affirming her efforts and being so encouraging. The autism adds so much to the difficulties. My youngest sister and her son have both been diagnosed with Aspergers, so I have learnt a lot about this over the years.
    Hummingbirds! I remember seeing one in the little pool-side garden of a hotel in Los Angeles over 20 years ago. I was so thrilled. They are just exquisite. I envy you, Calif, seeing them gathering at your feeders.

    Our beautiful eastern spinebill is the only honeyeater we have that hovers as it feeds, like a hummingbird, according to my bird book. Sometimes one visits my garden to feed on the red salvia, to my enormous delight.

    I was interested in the discussion of resistant starch. Thin, thank you for posting that link. And could you direct me to your other chicken recipes some time? I am really enjoying the one that I’ve been cooking.

    This is very long and I will stop now. A friend is arriving soon for lunch and to meet Paddy. I have cooked a soup with spelt grain and vegetables and we will eat it with grated parmesan out here in the sunshine.

    All the best to everyone
    Helen Kate

    Anzac65

    6:30 am

    9 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Good afternoon friends

    A rare quiet-ish day at work so a chance to post.

    Lindsay, I am so sorry about the loss of your friend

    I love and appreciate all tips and thoughts about different ways and means of doing things so please never hesitate to offer your advice. I think you are right, I did put myself under too much pressure but I’m just so keen to look nice for our trip to Lord Howe. If it happens 🙁 I’ve now had 3 weekends away cancelled and some health guy in the news today said it could be next year before we can travel anywhere. Even though LHI is part of NSW I’m sure it has special considerations seeing how it is an island. We will just have to wait and see

    How lovely to run into your son and grandkiddies at the park. My great niece and nephew are fearless too and watching videos that their parents kindly keep sending on Messenger puts my heart in my mouth at times. Lately they have been doing pretend olympics (so cute) and they just ran the 100m through the backyard and Mr 1.5 did a full-on face plant onto the grass; but he picked himself up and ran off happily

    How does your new letterbox look LJ?

    Turn, the engine on my train has also stagnated. How nice that your skirt falls off now but sad that it is a favourite

    Charlie G – 2kg and 1kg respectively for yourself and OH is fantastic! I had such a good week last week and only lost 300g but I’ll take anything right now

    I love the junk food on holiday analogy Neil. Holidays are indeed important (sans Pandemic) and yes you do have to save up for them, or pay for them when you return. I will think of this next time OH suggests takeaway for dinner

    My veins thank you Cinque, the injection spots are a little bruised but otherwise ok. The ultrasound today was rather uncomfortable as he was digging the instrument right into where my poor tummy is sore so I’m glad I had a mask on so they couldn’t see me grimacing. Glad it’s over

    Cali, the smoke from those fires must be awful and I know exactly how terrible it can be. We were SO lucky to miss the dreadful fires here in 2019/2020 and friends and family tales are horrendous.

    We can’t seem to get on top of this latest covid wave here in NSW and it is frightening. As you mentioned Cali, I read today that many states in America are seeing covid cases surging again.

    Sorry to hear about your poor sleep Helen Kate; I am not a great sleeper either. I often find it hard to turn the volume down in my wild head! Savoury crunch is my massive downfall too. Crackers, chips…..my willpower immediately flees the country.

    I must run, Maxx is on the couch crying because he curled up at the other end and now can’t get off because the exercise bike is in the way. No, it doesn’t make sense but that is my dog.

    Take care all

    Neilithicman

    10:03 pm

    9 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Morning all,

    Yesterday went well. I managed to keep to 750 calories (I just had some fruit and miso during the day and then some greek salad, swede rosti and a sausage for dinner) and I actually got to the gym for the first time in about 3 weeks due to reno and general tiredness. My legs are sore now but I feel good. I just need another small calorie day today and I should be on track to hit my weekly calorie goals. It’s been hard work countering the binge day and I definitely didn’t enjoy the food enough to justify the next three days of low calories.

    Cinque

    3:18 am

    10 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Good morning,
    I’ve been crook with a sore throat (covid test negative) and doing plenty of nothing except, sadly, a bit too much comfort eating. Getting back to sensible behaviour now.

    Charlie G, great work! It does feel SO good when the weight comes off. Brilliant to have mini goals to mark off as you go. It makes everything so much easier and more achievable.

    Lindsay, Condolences on the loss of your friend. https://emilypost.com/client_media/images/sympathy-flowers.jpg

    Aren’t gardens a great way to introduce littlies to the tastiest, freshest of veggies. At the moment my garden only works with strawberries.
    Isn’t it fascinating how different kids are with food likes and hates. Some live on meat, others on mush, some so narrow and some so wide in their likes.
    Part of my YamDaisy idea was to have the cafe modelling good food and good eating, as seeing a ‘normal’ is so powerful in shaping kid’s behaviour.

    Hoping the tax might be done now, what a nightmare, I’m seeing an up side of being too ill to work 😉

    Cali, all power to you for week two. Every circumstance helps us understand a bit more and our next try is a bit better informed. And there is nothing like our aches and pains to get us back to reality (when we drift off into lala land for a while).

    I feel so awful about those fires, I do hope you have some fresh air today. It has been dreadful seeing the fires in Greece too.
    The IPCC report has been top of the news here, and treated seriously on the news I watch, but the pandemic has shown us just how badly we humans are placed to give the powerful response that could keep everyone safe, including all Earth’s habitats. We are capable of so much, but too much power in the hands of greedy, shortsighted people. Sigh. All power to the next generation making headway fast.

    Neil, good luck for the fast days.
    Have you read much on the way our brains react to muscle loss? I have been thinking about it after that Catalyst show on IF that we have been critiquing. All the participants lost a fair amount of muscle as part of their weight loss and (especially because I can’t do much exercise) I wonder if that might effect my greater difficulty doing 5:2 after my initial success. I notice I am hungrier for protein, and presume that is connected (I can’t exercise and I sleep badly so I can’t do all the things they recommend).
    Anyone else who might have something to say on this, I would be glad to hear your thoughts too.

    HK I do hope you have had a better sleep. Restless legs are so annoying. I have had them occasionally.
    Your midnight snack could have been a lot worse. I hope you have been able to balance it out.

    Fab soup! I made enough to fill up a 2 litre jar the other day. Minestrone type with some barley (no pasta). It has been so nice to have a big bowl every day.

    How I wish I could do more to help my daughter. It does take a village to raise a child and I think most nuclear families struggle.

    Yes I keep learning more and more about Aspergers too. Wonderful things and difficult things, but especially how the tricky things can turn into such damaging anxieties if they are not understood and embraced.

    Anzac, hello!
    Isn’t it tricky to weigh up the short term goals that can be so rewarding, against keeping it reasonable. And it must confuse the reward centre of your brain to have your holiday continually postponed.
    I do hope you have worked out what is happening in your sore tum, and that if it is diverticulitis, it has settled down.
    https://i.etsystatic.com/5257485/r/il/0e8bc1/2787591396/il_794xN.2787591396_5ku0.jpg

    Awful news for NSW today, I guess we just have to hope it will keep being a couple of weeks before the numbers double, rather than sooner than that, and may vaccination work quicker than seems possible.

    Off to rest,
    Best wishes everyone

    Charlie G

    11:53 am

    10 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Evening Everyone,
    Scales were kind to me this morning, me down 300g, OH down 100g. OH is eating much more healthy food, but I am having trouble curbing his appetite.
    I have slipped back into fasting with ease, cane reaping many other health benefits. Unlike many of you, my sleep patterns have changed hugely in the past two weeks, and I am back getting a good nights sleep.
    I am also gaining back extra energy, and mentally, today I have been sooo happy.
    No particular reason, but it just feels so good.
    Helen Kate, yes I am a farmer, breeding dual purpose cattle, that is they can be used for both milk and meat. Most of our older girls are beef, but I have started using top dairy genetics from Europe over them to get true dual purpose animals, as many of our bulls are sold to dairy farmers, and this way they can milk the girls and not loose production, and the boys can be grown out for meat, making better use, and giving longer lives to those boys.
    We live in the Kiewa Valley in the North East of Victoria, with the Alps ( currently covered in snow) to our South. We love where we live, the eastern end of our farm has the river, and the western end of our farm backs onto state forest, the best of both worlds.
    Have a great week everyone.

    thinatlast

    2:11 pm

    10 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Tuesday FD for me. It all seems so wrong. I missed my Sunday FD due to a last minute offer from a school friend to take us to her home for a couple of days and wasn’t able to put a FD in the bank on Saturday as DD was already here and we’d made various plans. I don’t like being in arrears but here I am. No harm done on the scales so far.

    I read quite a few posts last week but didn’t have time to comment. I remember about Cinque’s little Miss 6 who has an aversion to veggies. I wondered whether anyone could come up with a recipe where I would not detect beetroot. (Don’t write in, I’m not that curious!). We were in a lovely old pub in Somerset yesterday and the lunch that appealed to me most (goat’s cheese and hazelnut salad) also contained beetroot. So I had the salt and pepper squid – which can go either way – but we were near the coast so I chanced it, and it turned out a great choice. My friend had the beetroot thingy and it was yellow. I hope I never get fooled by choosing that variation.

    Turn, thanks, glad you enjoyed The Roman Baths, we thought they were great too, just as pictured but we felt a bit rushed towards the end. All covid safe including restricted numbers allowed in/one way system which was good.

    Speaking of covid, wow, Australia really knows how to make its citizens living overseas feel like some kind of underclass. First refusing access home for a possible two years and now proposing that, if we were to return home, we can’t leave – not quite sure of the rationale on that one! Has anyone thought that through? Good grief, wondering why the OBEs aren’t out demonstrating against that little breach of constitutional rights. I suppose by branding us as some kind of undesirables, it takes the focus off the abysmal vaccination programme. But finally some hope – an acknowledgment that the borders can’t re-open until 80% of the population has been vaccinated. Only 61% to go ….

    CalifD, sorry to learn that you gained all your earlier losses back. All best wishes for your new turnaround. Is DS doing it with you? Did you ever watch, ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’? I surprised myself by enjoying series one. Now starting series two but hoping it’s not one of those shows where they don’t know when to stop making it. I just want Offred to break free at this point.

    Lindsay, so sorry for your loss of a friend.

    CharlieG, good job. Going in the right direction. GDSA, I remember reading that you’ve enjoyed a very solid loss also. It must feel great.

    Anzac, I hope you get to do your trip after all the disappointments. And I hope your lockdown isn’t too painful.

    HK, the chicken recipes I use for FDs are all from Hairy Bikers’ diet books left on the boat so I’m sorry I have no digital reference but have just had a quick look online. Here’s the Chicken Provençale: https://www.pinterest.co.uk/pin/451837775096367481/. Here’s the Tikka Masala: https://www.hairybikers.com/recipes/view/chicken-tikka-masala. And the Chicken Paprika: https://www.hairybikers.com/recipes/view/chicken-paprika
    Annoying not to have photos but you may find them online.

    Well, we are on the River Avon on the way to Bristol, moored slung between two trees and OH has been out with his machete trying to hack through the undergrowth so we can go for a walk. Sorry I didn’t get to everyone but hi LJ, Neil, Betsy if reading and everyone else.

    Neilithicman

    8:34 pm

    10 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Morning all, I finally feel like I am on top of things. I finished up 200 calories over my weekly goal, but that just meant my daily average was 1830 calories a instead of my goal of 1800. Weigh in this morning saw me down 600g to sit at 98.8kg. I’m now down 2.4 kg in the last 3 weeks

    Charlie, that sounds great, I grew up in a farming community and I really loved it. You’re new/old here so do you want to give us newbies a background story about your journey? My heaviest was 136 kg but I started the fast800 when I was at 132.5kg (a number burned in my brain). I started after seeing a Michael Mosley documentary. I got to 87kg and kept it off for a year, but over the last 6 months I ballooned back up to 102kg. I’m only just getting back on top of it now.

    Well I’m going to enjoy my post-weigh in non fast day but I’ll try not to overdo it. I’ll aim for around 2000-2200 calories today.

    Have a great one everyone.

    thinatlast

    6:48 am

    11 Aug 21

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    Neil, that’s great news. I knew you could do it.

    Charlie G

    9:56 am

    11 Aug 21

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    Hi Neil and others newer than me to this site,
    I started after seeing the first screen of Eat Fast and Live Longer, probably back in 2013.
    At the time I was 140kg, after having lost 20kg with shakes and then putting 10 back on when I tried to go back to eating normal food.
    In my first attempt I lost 30kg, then had a health issue and fell off the wagons, then between poor health, and having to care full time for my nasty demented mother, I went back up to 120kg.
    Since my mother died in 2017, I have slowly pulled off 7kg to be 113.
    After the ABC ran that rubbish doco on fasting, OH suggested that if I went back to fasting that this time he would join me, I fasted the next day, and he joined me on the Friday.
    I now fast Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, aiming to loose about 600-800grams a week, and desire to get to around 75kg by the end of this, no matter how long it takes.
    Thanks for asking.
    Weigh in in the morning, update then.

    Neilithicman

    10:11 pm

    11 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Morning all

    It’s been so long since I did 3 back to back fast days that I forgot the beautiful thing about it. It’s almost impossible to go on a binge afterwards.

    I had some blueberries with my homemade muesli for breakfast, I made an egg salad wrap for lunch and added a sausage roll as a treat. Dinner I had round at my sister-in-law’s house with some venison rogan josh, salad and roti, then I made a fruit sponge pudding for dessert with some ice cream. 2200 calories and I was absolutely stuffed.

    Charlie, that’s great that your other half is joining you in the fasting. It’s so much easier when you’ve got someone else doing it with you. That was one thing I struggled with when I was on the fast 800 (800 calories every day) I do the majority of the cooking at home and I had to prepare normal meals for the rest of my family that I couldn’t eat. I have 2 growing teenage boys that constantly need feeding (I’m reminded of the scene from Jurasic park when they lower a whole live cow into the t-rex’s enclosure to feed it when my boys are eating) You and I have similar goals, 600-800 grams a week, If I can manage that then I should hit around 90-92 kilos by my birthday at the end of October and then get back to my goal weight of 85-87 kilos by the end of the year. If I manage that then it will have been a real rollercoaster of a year. 87 up to 102 in 6 months then back to 87 in the second 6 months :/

    Have a great day everyone

    Cinque

    11:45 pm

    11 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Good morning,
    This lurgy I’ve been battling was bad yesterday, I had to cancel homehelp so there is lots of housework waiting for me as soon as I can do anything. I am not too depressed as I do feel a lot better this morning and think I can make some headway.

    Charlie, congratulations and woot woot for feeling so good.
    I am so glad that rubbish IF show had a good outcome in your case!
    Cheers for Mr Charlie too, no matter if he takes longer, it is such a big thing to change habits.
    It is so wonderful to hear about your property, such a beautiful place.
    Is it nearly time for poddies? I love them.

    Thin, hello, and ha, I am glad you escaped the dreaded beetroot.
    It sounds like you have been having a great social time with DD, hooray, and with your old friend.
    Life will settle back into its proper place after this Sunday’s fast day, I am sure.
    Yes we have been dreadful to Australians overseas, and some in such awful circumstances and nearly 60 who have died. A blot on us.
    I was in Bristol too, briefly, and my only memory is of the huge cliff wall of beautiful green growing things going down to the river. So say hello to that if you see it 😀 😀

    Neil, hooray. I hope you can ride that ‘on top of things’ crest all the way to your goal. It will be an extraordinary year with that roller coaster ride.

    I had my faith restored in Aussie science documentaries with “The Chemical World’ the other night. I really enjoyed it.

    Well, I didn’t have a fast day yesterday, and I think today I will concentrate on having a good food day.
    I might try one of those Hairy Biker chicken dishes.

    Best wishes to all

    thinatlast

    6:58 am

    12 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Cinque, sorry that you’re still not well but it’s good that you’re on the mend today. I read now that Canberra is in lockdown. I hope there’s enough toilet paper. We don’t have any losers there, do we? And no reps in Perth now. It was very green floating down the Avon Valley into Bristol. We are here with the big ships right in the heart of the city. We’re on a floating pontoon with electricity and water and a security code to keep the general public away from our boat.

    My boarding school friend is the one we stayed with in Windsor Great Park some years back. Her OH was the Queen’s Pigger for 37 years. They now live on Exmoor. She was overweight even back in high school and is now over 100kgs. Her OH must be at least 200kgs and struggles to get around. When we met last month, they were very interested in 5:2 as a WOL and the next day ordered three of Dr Mosley’s Fast books and set some small goals. I had high hopes that they could turn their lives around and enjoy the health benefits. When we arrived, the books were on the table but sadly, they hadn’t got off the starting blocks, citing difficulties choosing suitable fast days. I suspect there’s an underlying fear.

    CharlieG, I think your attitude towards getting to 75kg ‘no matter how long it takes’ is spot on. Downward trend is what we want. Who cares how long it takes? (unless there’s a critical health issue requiring more rapid loss I suppose). You are not alone here with your difficult relationship with your mother.

    Neil, I had similar issues being the primary food provider in the home. Thinking about it now though, that’s probably easier than having the OH providing who knows what that you have little or no control over. I bet those growing lads can put away some food.

    Cinque, let me know what you think of the HB dishes. I like them as they have few ingredients so it’s easy to remember what I need to buy.

    Charlie G

    9:18 am

    12 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Evening all,
    Scales were nice to me this morning, down another 200g.
    So nice to read all your posts, you have no idea how good they make me feel and how you are all inspirational to me.
    Cinque, our poddies are born in our Autumn, so they are now heading towards five months old, hopefully winter will disappear soon, and the spring flush of feed will get them growing big and strong, they will be weaned of the Mums around Christmas time.
    Neil, it’s the OH that has brought me undone in the past, as I am the main cook, and he has a very healthy appetite. I was pleasantly surprised when he decided to join me this time, although he will soon tire of salads, whereas I could just live on them, he is more a meat and three to four veg person.
    Thin, thanks for the support of however long it takes, I am much more determined to not get derailed this time, surprisingly, I am finding the current restrictions much easier to deal with, no going out for dinner with friends, or cooking dinner for visitors means I am finding it much easier to stay focused.
    Spent much of today, doing our business logo on work shirts and wind cheaters, and making new clothes for me, old ones already need taking in, which only lasts for a while.
    Enjoy your evening everyone!

    thinatlast

    9:58 am

    12 Aug 21

    Permalink

    CharlieG, my OH is highly food motivated, thinks of nothing much else but where the next meal is coming from but has not gained one ounce since high school. Have you had a look at our recipe page? https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/southern-hemispherites-fd-recipes/ Your husband can have, say, chicken and bacon casserole even on a FD. But even if you serve salads on the FDs (I found it an effort to calculate all those salad ingredient calories), he can still enjoy his meat and 4 veg five days a week. I was trying to explain to my friend here that she doesn’t have to eat her way through the pantry before starting this WOL, rather she can continue to enjoy those foods on the other five days if still desired. Over time, they will not be desired in as great a quantity I believe. Meals out are my undoing and, like you, in lockdown I didn’t have to worry about all those tempting pub meals.

    Charlie G

    10:30 am

    12 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Thanks for the link Thin, will look into it in the next few days, to track veggies etc, I am making good use of My Fitness Pal, as yet I haven’t not been able to find any foods on there.
    Makes calculating all my foods easy. Especially as I am trying to stay under 1500 calories on NF days.

    Neilithicman

    8:58 pm

    12 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Morning all

    Got my first Covid jab yesterday and man my arm is sore this morning.

    Cinque

    11:39 pm

    12 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Good morning,
    Yesterday I felt well enough to go and buy coffee, I made a cup as soon as I got home (I’d run out a couple of days before) and goodness me it lifted my spirits 😀 😀 😀

    I also felt back in the zone, so I hope that continues. A very good eating day yesterday. Hooray. And a good start to today.

    Thin, yes Canberra is in lockdown and yes everyone ran straight to the supermarkets. Human nature is a weird thing. Fingers crossed they can get on top of it in a week.
    Lots of good wishes that your friends can find the courage to get started with 5:2 and that it suits them well once they begin.

    Yes hooray for the 5:2 downward trend!

    I got sidetracked from making a HB chicken recipe yesterday because my fridge is so efficient the chicken hadn’t thawed much, and it was easier to just make something up with the one chicken chop I could peel off the top. I’ve decided to make the chicken paprika, and saved the recipe, but it will need a shopping trip first. Looking forward to it!

    Neil, woot! https://i.pinimg.com/originals/9b/96/79/9b96799d061a0528da6b0da7bac5374a.gif
    That is for the weight loss and the first vaccination.
    But big sympathy for your sore arm, I hope it settles down soon.

    Charlie, it will be your fast day today, sending good wishes for an excellent one.
    I’ll look forward to hearing about the poddies next Autumn.

    LJoyce, you have disappeared again. Sending you lots of wishes https://digitalprodyatesauweb.blob.core.windows.net/cache/1/e/c/d/8/0/1ecd80b6fd6dc8de7c675092331677489e297ec4.webp
    (I’ve got violets scenting my garden at the moment)

    And hello to everyone else, you deserve flowers too! I hope there is enough here for everyone
    https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/flower-line-4886603.jpg

    thinatlast

    7:41 am

    13 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Neil, which jab?

    CharlieG, I’d forgotten about MyFitnessPal. Counting calories is such a pain.

    Cinque, yay, back in the groove. I hope you love the HBs’ Chicken Paprika. Ha ha, peeling off the semi-frozen pieces.

    Yawn, big night in Bristol last night. Not for us, but everyone else. The ear plugs worked to an extent but it was almost worse when the clubs closed as the crowds seemed to congregate near our jetty. We’re doing laundry, washing the boat, scrubbing Ursula the crocodile https://imgur.com/Allgukr and then we will find the Harbour Master to arrange the swing bridge swinging time to let us out. And then we re-work the 107 locks back to The Thames.

    LJoyce

    9:33 am

    13 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Thanks for the violets Cinque, such lovely little flowers – I have some blooming in my front garden at the moment.

    Sorry for the absence, yet again. I’ve been a bit under the weather with a lung infection. It thankfully cleared by yesterday, just in time for me to have my second AZ vaccine. A less dramatic side effect this time – just my upper arm sore and inflamed, rather than the entire arm.
    I am very behind with posts and will try to catch up over the weekend. I need to increase my activity too as I’ve spent too many days curled up on the couch napping.
    I have continued with 3 FDs per week but have been more erratic with the NFDs, some better than others.

    I hope you are all doing well. Take care everyone.

    Neilithicman

    9:35 am

    13 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Evening all

    Thin, I got my first Pfizer jab. It’s not open to my age group yet but my work had priority being a local government agency. Our government has just changed the rules so the jabs have to be at least 6 weeks apart now. They’re prioritising getting everyone at least one dose rather than getting people fully vaccinated. But that’s ok because the latest research is that the best results come from delaying up to 8 weeks between injections.

    Charlie, I use MyFitnessPal as well. If you’re using the mobile version then it’s pretty good. Once you’ve entered your foods once, every time after that you just need to start typing and it brings up all the past foods you’ve entered. Great if you eat similar foods all the time.

    Cinque, nothing like a nice morning coffee to lift the mood. Also helps with appetite suppression if you’re doing TRE and delaying your first meal a few hours.

    Well my arm still aches a little but it has really settled down now. I’d better get on the website and get my second jab booked.

    Have a great weekend everyone.

    Helen Kate

    1:38 am

    14 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Dear people

    FD for me today. I am encouraged by the fact that my tum is visibly flatter – not flat but flatter! This is cheering.

    I am also cheered by the prospect of Thin’s chicken-and-bacon casserole in store for me at the end of the day. This is my last frozen punnet so I will need to get busy cooking up something new.

    Thanks very much, Thin, for posting links to the other chicken recipes that you like. I’ve printed them out. And also I’ve just now bought The Hairy Bikers diet recipes book, the first one, and it is sitting on my kindle as a good resource.

    Anzac, yes, the fatal attraction of the savoury crunch! Nice to know that others share this.

    Cinque, you are exactly right when you say about autism/Aspergers ‘the tricky things can turn into such damaging anxieties if they are not understood and embraced’. My youngest sister wasn’t diagnosed until she was in her forties and had a really hard time at school and later. She ate to comfort herself and that led to obesity and all the related problems, which are still with her, though now she is more able to ‘understand and embrace’ her nature and is certainly much happier.

    I am sorry that you’ve been ill and was glad to read of you being recovered enough to go out and buy coffee after two days without. Whenever a lockdown is threatened I stock up with an extra pack of coffee just in case!

    Charlie G, thanks for telling us about your farm. It sounds like a beautiful location. Also interesting about your journey with this WOL. You are doing so well, and it’s great to hear of the energy and happiness that you are feeling.

    Neil, congratulations on your great progress with both house and weight, and also on getting your first Pfizer.

    And now I must stop and get on with my day. Sorry not to get to everyone, but I do read all the messages with interest. It is very encouraging to read of other people’s ups and downs and determination. And there’s a lot of pleasure in food as well as in weight management, which is nice.

    Warm wishes
    Helen

    Cinque

    3:25 am

    14 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Saturday morning,
    I am having another good day,
    … although my heart is breaking for NSW. Fingers crossed the new restrictions can stop everything enough to make the difference.

    I am writing and setting up some beetroot kvass at the same time so it might be well passed noon by the time I finish this. I’ve been doing computery things all morning, so need to be up and about, but still want to catch up here!

    Thin, I hope you are well away from another loud Bristol night. So many locks! Good luck with them all.

    Now the bacon and chicken recipe is calling. So many choices! But I used up the chicken pieces I had in some tomato and beetroot sauce (delicious, truly!) with steamed cabbage.

    LJoyce, violets are blooming in my garden too, their scent is everywhere. One of the nicest smells in the world.
    So sorry to hear how crook you have been with that new lung infection. Are they less likely once the weather starts warming up? I hope so.
    Hooray to have that second vaxx done and less side effects too.
    Hooray to be able to curl up on your couch and nap when needed, but won’t you love feeling well enough to be out and about, and doesn’t that make the times between meals swing along too!
    Big cheers for keeping to your three FDs. Best of luck making the other ones good eating days.

    Neil, I am so glad your sore arm is settling down.
    Yes coffee has so many benefits. I piggy back on its appetite suppression qualities to enjoy the taste linger as I march into the morning post breakfast.

    Helen Kate woot for flatter tummies!
    Happy Fast Day.

    I am so glad your sister has finally been able to be happier, I have a couple of women friends who have only been diagnosed as the particular issues around girls and autism have become better known, and I also have become more aware of what a cost it has been to them to try to be what is expected of them in our bizarre society. It is heart breaking but also I am so impressed with how brave and stoic they have been.

    Haha yes, how I wish I had some extra coffee tucked away for emergencies. It is an essential.

    Now yes, it is well after noon, but the beetroot kvass is on its way and 3 things at a time the kitchen is getting tidy again.

    Best wishes to everyone. Might I manage a fasty fast day tomorrow? I’ll see, but an 800cal one will do me fine if I am not feeling robust enough.

    I saw Dr Mosley’s tweet about his new book: ‘The Fast 800 Keto’
    Gday you will love it!
    https://www.thebookseller.com/news/hachette-publishes-michael-mosleys-keto-book-1260408

    Okay, off I go!
    Ciao

    Charlie G

    1:21 pm

    14 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Greetings everyone,
    Lesson learnt yesterday, having cooked vegetables meant I only lost100g, whereas if I had eaten my normal salad I feel I would have done better, ah well this is all one big experiment anyway.
    Mondays fast will bring me to three weeks, so hoping for a better day, at least I have got down to exactly 110kg, just a bit more off and I will be below what I weighed when I was thirty.
    Neil, great that you have been able to get your first dose of COVAX, we both our second AZ back in July.
    We are both fire brigade volunteers, so it made us early in.
    Cinque, we also have violets blooming in the front garden, as well as their fragrance, I also have a lovely Winter Sweet growing outside the dining room windows. On a warm sunny day it’s perfume fills the whole area.
    Enjoy the rest of your weekend, I will check in again next week.
    Please keep posting, so enjoying everyone’s journey.

    thinatlast

    7:15 am

    15 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Celebrating 7 years of IF today. I weighed 83kg at my worst, today I’m 58kgs. I reached my goal weight after a year of 5:2 and maintained 60kgs with a combination of 5:2 and 6:1 when travelling abroad. Over the years, I dropped another 2kg and have managed to maintain my weight on 6:1 for the past two years. I’ve never skipped or blown a FD in that seven years and that’s my secret weapon. No excuses. It’s a small sacrifice with enormous benefits. Nothing beats the confidence gained in finally being a slim person after spending most of my adult life overweight. I no longer have OA knee pain. I am no longer at risk of diabetes. I no longer take BP meds or any other medicine. I am no longer at risk of stroke (other than the 3% risk attributed to my age). Thank you Dr M. for changing my life and to all here for the years of friendship and support.

    Charlie G

    12:18 pm

    15 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Hi Thin,
    What a truly amazing journey, you sure are the poster girl.
    Thanks to people like you, each time I have fallen off the wagon, you and many others have inspired me to get back on.
    Unlike you I have messed up heaps, but I am not afraid to admit it.
    Lessons learnt along the way, are now inspiring me to the next phase of my journey.
    Thank you one and all.
    Have a great week everyone.
    Charlie

    thinatlast

    8:08 pm

    15 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Thank you CharlieG, I forgot to say that NFDs are still a work in progress seven years on! We’re still the same people we always were wrt food and decades of bad habits take a lifetime to undo. Today was a good FD, that’s my anchor.

    That will be a great milestone for you to be below your weight at age thirty. A lot of people fall off the horse, as Merry says, and love the fact that this WOL allows them to climb back on. That won’t work for me; I just can’t trust myself to get on that slippery slope. You do what works for you.

    Cinque, tomato and beetroot sauce! I bet that was a lovely, deep colour. But that’s all I can say about it.

    HK, so pleased you like the recipes. I’m not much into recipe or diet books but I do enjoy these Hairy Bikers’ recipes that were left on the boat by the previous owners. My friend who lived in Windsor Great Park gave me a copy of ‘A Royal Cookbook – Seasonal Recipes from Buckingham Palace’. I might have to lift my game! Her husband is photographed in it as Windsor Castle’s specialist pig farmer. Funnily enough, no calories listed! We had a bit of fun at their new home being shown some of their ‘royal’ mementos including a beautifully boxed slice of Kate and William’s wedding cake.

    LJ, sorry to hear you’ve been ill again. That seems to happen rather too frequently.

    Neilithicman

    10:20 pm

    15 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Morning all

    Well as per normal I ate more on Friday/Saturday than I should have, but I managed to curb the damage with a 900 calorie fast day yesterday, so if I stick to 1,500 calories a day for the next 2 days I’ll still hit my goal for the week. and hopefully still see a drop on the scales. It helps that now I’ve finished my renovations I’ve been going to the gym again last week. We also got a call from the aluminium window fabricator and they’re ahead of schedule so they’re going to install our double glazing tomorrow.

    Happy thinniversary thin, I still have a lot to learn from you about maintenance.

    Cinque and Charlie, my wife’s hyacinth are starting to come out in bloom at the moment, but the thing I’m more excited about is the buds showing on our gooseberry bushes, plum tree, raspberry canes, and new strawberry plants popping up everywhere.

    HK, hooray, progress other than on the scale is always good to see. I’m the same, When I was weighing 87 I was comfortably on the third notch of my belt. At 101kg I was struggling to get into the first notch of the belt, now I am comfortably on the first notch and can squeeze into the second notch, but it’s definitely not comfortable yet. Little goals.

    Cinque

    11:50 pm

    15 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Good morning,
    Lovely morning after fast day for me too, and having a cup of tea while my waffle iron heats up for those seedy crispbread I am going to have for breakfast with kippers!

    Charlie, how interesting that cooked veggies made such a difference. Hooray for your normal salad.
    Wasn’t 110kg your first goal? https://i.pinimg.com/originals/00/ed/7e/00ed7ea3401fe1605ecaffeca76dc7ec.gif Congratulations!
    Ooh and you might get to your second goal this week or next? And hopefully, feel 30 again. Those were the days.

    I don’t know the smell of wintersweet! I’ll look out for it around here.
    Isn’t it a lovely time of year for beautiful flower scents.

    Thin what a wonderful anniversary for you.
    Such a great list of benefits of being a healthy weight.
    Bring on the next 7 years!
    https://i2.wp.com/www.sspp.lincs.sch.uk/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Awards-1024×686.jpg?resize=887%2C594

    Yes the beetroot sauce is called ‘glorious sauce’ because of its colour.

    Neil, woot for renovations done and woot woot for the double glazing.
    More woots for the signs of spring and a fruity summer.

    Heading for the next notch in my belt too

    bye now

    Merryme

    12:35 am

    16 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Hi everyone, good morning, readers and lurkers,

    Quick update , then back later. Just scanned a few messages quickly and will read through the latest page later as well.

    Well done Neil on the renos and the first notch on the belt!

    Congratulations Thin! You are indeed the Poster Child for 5:2. Your FD’s are the stuff of 5:2 legend. Inspirational!

    Cinque, you are the other Poster Child for 5:2,
    and I learn so much from your knowledge of food.

    I’m looking forward to catching up with how everyone else is going. Taking a little break from lockdown home-school maths atm.

    Update:
    We qualified to leave Melbourne lockdown, border permission OK to return to NSW, and to live in Northern NSW for the next few months with DD, who’s doing it a bit tough after having to separate earlier in the year. My heart breaks for those who have to do this without parental support.

    Anyhoo, we’re up to over 4000kms on the road after leaving home in Wollongong mid June packed for a couple of winter weeks, Lol. I’ve had several -ive Covid tests in the last month including border mandatory and local lockdowns’ ‘if you’ve get any symptoms even the mildest get tested’ ones in both Victoria and NSW local lockdowns. We over- nighted in Dubbo at the wrong time as it turned out. Got —ve result last night too:) I’ve had a crappy dose of RSV respiratory virus with an accompanying bacterial infection for 4 weeks. It’s been a year for a nasty RSV varient this year. Had my 2nd AZ vax in the middle of it, fortunately with almost no side effect:). Grateful for consults with Drs manning a Drive Thru testing site in Melbourne and the Vax site in Jeff’s Shed in Melbourne! And tele-health and escripts! Good to have us both double vaxed. DD here has had first Moderna with no side effects- so grateful she was the 1 in 4. DD in Melbourne is not in the current mandatory Pfizer age range so hanging on Moderna arriving in early September.

    Off to get morning tea with couple of very active young grandkids in lockdown.

    Merry

    Helen Kate

    6:32 am

    16 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Dear all

    I am envious of you people who have violets blooming in your gardens. It is one of the best fragrances. I must get myself organised with some plants. At least I have some freesias this year, and I can see the buds swelling, a bit bigger each day. Another wonderful fragrance. Hyacinths too – sounds as if you have a great and productive garden, Neil.

    I had a good fast day on Saturday. I can get through the day eating very little when I have the prospect of a fairly solid meal in the evening, something with texture and substance that stays a while in the tum – like Thin’s chicken casserole!

    Dr M certainly doesn’t stand still. His new book is probably very interesting but I think the original simple 5:2 will do me.

    Charlie, I am impressed that you are doing 4:3. Great that is is working well for you.

    Big congratulations, Thin, on your Seven Year Anniversary. It was inspiring to read your message, and I have copied it out for future reference. Thanks for being here to encourage us all and remind us of what a good journey this is.

    Good work in the belt notch department, Neil, as well as in the house department. How terrific to have double-glazing.

    Merry, so much movement, and so much illness. Glad you got permission to get back to be with the daughter who needs your support. Hope the health situation improves for you now. How do you manage IF when life is so changeable? I agree with you about Thin and Cinque being our pin-up girls, both so generous and impressive in their different ways. As is everyone here in fact. Such a good group.

    I will have my next Fast Day on Wednesday. It’s nice to be having a NFD today. A friend is coming for dinner and I am making a lentil cottage pie and a big salad. I had coffee at my favourite cafe this morning, and bought two of their baklava which we will have for dessert tonight. They smell delicious and look so pretty, with a little clove stuck in the top of each one.

    Happy eating and happy fasting to all, and special thoughts for those of you in lockdown.
    HK

    CalifDreamer

    7:19 am

    16 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Sunday night.
    Thin, congratulations on your 7 year 5:2 Anniversary! I admire your willpower and 58kg’s!

    Neil, congrats on your first jab. I hope the sore arm calms down quickly. It seems like about half the people I know had sore arms for one or both and half had hardly any reaction. Oh, and I’ve been meaning to thank you and the other people here who were talking about the dry miso sachets. I found one under the Kikkoman brand that also has tofu and seaweed in it and is quite good. I think the probiotic health benefits are lost because you have to add very hot water, but it makes up for it by being so quick to prepare. I love the addition of tofu bits and seaweed. And only 35 calories. Perfect for FD’s.

    LJ, congrats on your second jab. It’s a good thing the lung infection calmed dow the day before. The would probably have wanted you to wait if it hadn’t. It’s good to see the vaccination rate going up.

    Cinque, that beetroot and tomato sauce sounds interesting and i’m going to try it. OH doesn’t like beetroot that much, but adding some garlic, basil and other herbs should camouflage the flavor. I bet the color is gorgeous.

    I’m back on the original 5:2 since 2 Aug. it’s gone easy so far and I’ve lost 1.3kg. I found last time that I could eat pretty much what I wanted (within reason) on NFD and still lose in the beginning. As I got closer to goal, I had to be more careful in order to keep losing steadily. I weigh every day but have seen more ups and downs this time due to salt intake. I had a general blood test a couple weeks ago that showed my sodium level a little bit low. I had experienced a headache for about a week that seemed to be related and was difficult to get rid of with Tylenol, an over the counter pain med. as soon as I saw the test result, I ate a bunch of salty foods and the headache was gone in about an hour. So I’ve been eating a little more than the typical scrape of Vegemite on toast each morning and drinking the miso during the day. On FD I sometimes mix a little salt in water and just drink that. Amazingly it hasn’t affected my BP. I asked my doctor to order another test this week to see if the sodium levels are back to normal.

    Congrats to everyone who is getting Covid jabs. It seems like most of the people on this forum have at least one, and many have the second already. I hope the NSW situation improves soon with the lockdowns and testing. We seemed to do ok until they opened everything up and dropped the mask mandates. Now we’re headed quickly up again with this Delta variant. I wish they would lock things down for a few weeks again. Are most of the new cases unvaccinated?

    Have a good day, everyone!

    LJoyce

    11:20 am

    16 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Good evening all.
    I am mostly caught up on the many posts I missed. Almost back to normal health although still a bit low on energy.

    Neil, congratulations being back in the 90s and on getting your first vaccine.

    Thin, happy anniversary. It’s well known that you don’t break FDs. But I have also noticed that you appear to have a fairly active life (wrangling a narrow boat in and out of locks and walking miles for groceries) and for the most part, you seem to make thoughtful food choices on the NFDs. (I’ve had the impression that you focus on getting 2 filling healthy meals and do a bit less snacking than the rest of us). I think all of this shows that 6:1 can work for maintenance if only we all had your level of discipline. Well done Thin.

    Cinque, I’m afraid I’m in Thin’s camp when it comes to beetroot. Even a trace of it ruins whatever it’s in for me. I read Cali’s suggestion of hiding it with garlic and basil and I was shaking my head thinking, no absolutely not!

    Cali, Excellent that vegemite was the answer to your health complaint – who would have thought.
    In answer to your question, yes I think all of those who have been hospitalised are either unvaccinated or have only had the first dose. I don’t think we have had any deaths of people who were fully vaccinated.

    HK, enojy your dinner of lentil pie and baklava and the time with a friend. I love lentil cottage pie – perfect cold weather food.

    Merry, it seems that you have had some very unexpected family upheavals. Thank goodness you were allowed to travel to deal with them though (despite the many covid tests that are required).

    Charlie, I admire you for being able to stick to salad in winter – it has to be over 35C for me to enjoy a cold salad. Glad to hear it is helping the scales move downward.

    Betsy, are you ok. Hope you are managing your studies and lockdown.

    Anzac, I watch the outbreak in Sydney with worry each day and think of you – I’m very glad you had established yourself into home based work – much safer for you and your loved ones.
    I was watching a British program about dog adoption the other night and they showed the entrance to someone’s house where the front doormat read “Go away. Unless you have wine and dog treats”. Sorry , but I instantly thought your very food motivated Maxx.

    Hello to everyone else who is reading but unable to post at the moment. Take care all.

    thinatlast

    8:26 pm

    16 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Neil, good job, you’re back in the zone and nailing it. Maintenance, yep, Cinque & I warned you on the way down that it was tricky.

    Cinque, thank you for the gold cup. Yes, to the next seven years. I only wish I’d been Anzac, GDSA & Neil’s ages when I discovered this.

    LJ, I hadn’t realised/remembered that you were beetroot-averse and CalifD, ha ha, you’d need a heck a lot of garlic. Even a drizzle of the juice on a salad and I’m gagging. I’m sure it’s genetic though as my brother is not a fussy eater either but cannot get it down.

    CalifD, good to hear that you’re back on the wagon too. How’s your DS going?

    Merry, you poor things running all over the country. I bet your family are so grateful for your help.

    Anzac, hoping you’re doing alright.

    LJ, you’re right, I am probably more active living this lifestyle than when we had cars and only had to flip a switch or turn a tap to get our utilities. It’s probably why I’ve been able to maintain on 6:1 for so long this time whereas before I’d always have to revert to 5:2 after a few months when I hit my ‘trigger’ weight which I think was 61kg at that time. We certainly weren’t doing much over winter other than a daily walk and I recall that I did revert to 5:2 for the month of February.

    Shame you mentioned all that because I was lulled into thinking that perhaps finally my body thinks I’m a slim person! It just goes to show that I will always require constant vigilance. I do feel that 5:2 is better than 6:1 because it gives you fewer days to slip into bad habits and helps you stay more in tune with portion control. If/when we get back to living in a house and I have a proper size freezer, I think I would be inclined to revert to 5:2 for those reasons. One thing I do know: it won’t work without adherence to the FDs.

    Remember PerthGirl? We met for coffee in Perth. She told me that she never snacks. I learned from her that if I want a handful of nuts, they have to be included in the dinner ‘calculations’. Good advice I thought. Dr M. said the same; we can graze all day but NOT in addition to three meals! The food manufacturers’ job is to make us believe that we need food and drinks every couple of hours. Our job is to fight back.

    HK, I feel a twinge of betrayal every time Dr M. moves on to the next amazing thing leaving 5:2 in the dust. I’m with you, keep it simple and stick with what works. I loved what you wrote ‘happy eating and happy fasting’ because enjoying food is important too.

    Neilithicman

    9:58 pm

    16 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Morning all

    I had a good day yesterday despite a family meal for my wife’s brother-in-law’s birthday. Luckily they had salad, grilled salmon and barbecued chicken livers so there wasn’t too much unhealthy food. I just need to keep to 1400 calories today to hit my goal.

    I’m kind of disappointed with Michael Mosley tinkering with the 5:2 programme. It started off perfect with fasting twice a week and eating a balanced Mediterranean diet. Now it seems to have turned into a money making venture with him pushing his pricey meal replacement shakes and numerous spin-off books that really aren’t needed (the Mediterranean diet is mildly ketogenic anyway, there’s no need to write a whole book on the fast800 keto diet)

    Cali, yes I love the little miso soup sachets, I wasn’t really eating miso for the probiotics, I just like the taste. The tofu and seaweed really makes it for me too. It seems that our local supermarket has run out of them and I’ve used up all the ones that I bought a couple of weeks ago. It seems that since covid there are some things that are sporadically out of stock on the shelves and the Miso soup sachets are unfortunately one of them.

    Ljoyce, great that you’re feeling better now, the energy will hopefully return soon.

    Merry, 4,000 kms is a real marathon! We kind of forget how good we’ve got it over here in New Zealand with life basically the same as it was pre-covid. I can’t imagine what it would be like to have all the rigmarole of passing through various borders and having to give covid tests everywhere.

    Well back to work I suppose, wish me luck for my weigh-in tomorrow.

    Cinque

    2:25 am

    17 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Hello hello,

    Cold grey Melbourne day again, lucky it was gorgeous on Sunday as that is helping me last.

    Merry what a rollercoaster your life continues to be. So glad you are able to be with your daughters family and help with the kids, and hopefully get lots of being looked after too.

    HelenKate, I wish I could give you some violet plants, as they are keen to grow rampantly here, I have to keep them in check. One minute I am painstakingly picking 30 little flowers to fill a tiny vase, next minute I am ripping out runaway plants.
    (It’s a vase day today 🙂 )

    So nice to hear how you are working out what makes a fast day work best for you.
    I bet you had a wonderful dinner with your friend, what beautiful food!

    How I do agree this is a lovely group. I am so grateful for it.

    Hi Cali! Waving from half the world away!
    Great that you found the miso sachets. That soup is so wonderfully hydrating, full of electrolytes and just the thing to fill your belly for a while and help keep your salt at a sensible level. And hooray for vegemite.

    Have fun adding in some beetroot next time you make a tomato pasta sauce (tomato sauce in my head is a ketchup style sauce https://cdn0.woolworths.media/content/wowproductimages/medium/061679.jpg , so that is why I call this one a pasta sauce.). So easy to wing it, but I will put in the recipe just so you can check it out.

    Hooray for that excess 1.3kg gone! https://bestanimations.com/media/fireworks/671801409ba-awesome-coloful-fireworks-animated-gif-image-3.gif

    Re covid cases in Australia, it is a worry how outbreaks are popping up everywhere and harder to bring under control. Our population is still mainly unvaccinated and if that isn’t bad enough, now they are concerned that vaccinated people might catch it and have no symptoms so have no idea they might be spreading it. Keeping masks on!
    Melbourne is back to curfews and playgrounds shut to try and halt the latest outbreak. Fingers crossed it works quickly.

    LJoyce,
    No glorious sauce for you then! 😀
    So glad you are still on the up, and may today give you a extra little energy burst to make it especially enjoyable.

    Thin, ! love that snack rule. A day with no snacks is a good day. (Thinking of me who just doesn’t move enough to need a snack, ever).

    Neil, not a bad calorie goal today, and the memory of great food and family celebration to keep you going. Good luck for tomorrow’s weigh in!

    Ha yes I do think of Dr Mosley as very much a media tart, and working to make more money out of each book he does.
    But I do think the first book didn’t get it all right, it did need updating from ‘eat what you want on NFDs’ to ‘follow Mediterranean Diet Guidelines on your NFD’s. And I am all for eat 800 calories on fast days if that is what suits best.

    My heart sinks that he is going to start yet another new website and this one will be two steps behind and have even less traffic.

    Well, this has been post interrupted, so I hope it makes sense. Best wishes everyone, yes ANZAC, hanging out to hear how you are going.
    Bye now

    Neilithicman

    10:12 pm

    17 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Well double bad news. I had a 300g rise on the scales this week to sit on 99.1 kilos. I’m hoping it’s just water weight because I kept to my 1800 calories a day average and got 4 good workouts in this week

    Secondly and probably more importantly, we now have a confirmed outbreak of the delta variant of Covid and we’ve gone into a country-wide lockdown while they trace contacts and try to knock the outbreak in its tracks

    Well hopefully both will be a minor blip that will be sorted out next week

    Have a good one everyone

    Cinque

    1:06 am

    18 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Blame the scales Neil!
    Keep strong. You are really looking after your body, it will show.

    Such sympathy about NZ’s outbreak. This Delta variant is wicked. Hoping that you get it under control quickly, but also that it spurs everyone to get vaccinated asap.

    It is Fast Day for me today.

    ayame

    4:21 am

    18 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Hello everyone!

    I’m in Sydney and preparing to start 5:2 fasting again after a long break (4 years) and significant weight gain. I know from previous experience that it works but for some reason I have not been able to get back into it mentally. Just reading your posts is hugely inspiring so thank you.

    Now deciding should I start tomorrow or wait until next Monday? I think that probably answers itself – I should stop talking about and start doing, so I’ll try tomorrow.

    In the past I had pretty much 0 calories on fast days – just a splash of milk in tea in the afternoon. I found that this was easier because if I allow myself 500 calories I would be obsessing about food all day. Has anyone had this experience?

    Not looking forward to the first fast days but I am looking forward to all the clothes I’ll fit into again!!!

    Charlie G

    9:45 am

    18 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Hi Fellow Fasters,
    Like you Neil, scales were not kind at the start of this week. (Don’t let friends decide to try new cafe for a catch-up lunch on the weekend)
    It’s just fish and salad they said, yep, fish floating in greasy fry oil, and salad covered in dressing.
    Both OH and I were off colour the next day, and I used heaps of serviettes to remove as much grease as I could. We don’t do dressings either, good food doesn’t need it.
    FD today, and scales much kinder this morning, fingers crossed for a new number in the morning.
    OH is eating too much on NFD, and has gained back what he had lost plus extra. Can’t be told, I am sticking closely to what I know can work.
    Neil, hope NZ contact tracers can get it right, we in country vic can eat out etc, but I feel for our Melbournian cousins, locked down with the numbers bumping along.
    I thought Melbourne was better than Sydney, but that’s not the case. Regional areas having to deal with large groups turning up at restaurants, parties during lockdown, do these people not get it, that’s why they are now living under a nightly curfew. So sad for the ones doing they right thing, has killed accomodation and the ski industry for a second year (we rely on providing accommodation with a three bedroom cottage at this time of year to pay the bills).
    Whinge over for now!
    Will check in after breakfast in the morning,
    Have a great night/day wherever you are.

    ayame

    10:55 pm

    18 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Hi Thinatlast I just read your post where you say you’ve “never skipped or blown a FD in that seven years and that’s my secret weapon. No excuses” and I’m inspired! It has made me realise that this has been my problem in the past – I allow one FD to slip because I’ll-fast-later-this-week but it just makes it easier and easier to slip.

    Thank you for your post – I am starting anew today NO EXCUSES!!!
    XXXX

    PS I was horrified when I weighed myself this morning but when I put it into the tracker it looks even worse!

    Cinque

    10:59 pm

    18 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Good morning,

    Welcome Ayame, lovely to have you here.
    Hooray for getting back into 5:2 and fingers crossed you get in the zone again and can say good bye to those pesky excess kilos.

    I hope you are fasting today. I am passing you the baton after my fast Wednesday (I had a good one).

    So many people are like you and find it is easiest to eat nothing, especially because it can set off the munchies and just make the rest of the fast day harder.

    It also saves on so much time in the kitchen and all that washing up 😀 😀

    Charlie, oh dear, what a disappointing new cafe.
    I guess OH has to make his own decisions, but I am sorry you are on your own with the health push. Lucky you’ve got us, haha.

    Sorry on behalf of Greater Melbourne for those dickheads. They are the same the world over, sigh.
    Aren’t these hard times for so many industries. So much sympathy.

    Ayame! I just saw your latest post. Woot! Go for it. Cheers for today.

    Charlie G

    12:43 am

    19 Aug 21

    Permalink

    Greetings all,
    The scales and I are friends again, down to 109.9kg, pretty happy with that after last weekend.
    Welcome Ayame, like Cinque I am passing you my batten after a really good fast yesterday.
    My thoughts are also with everyone in lockdown in Aus and NZ.
    Trying times for all. Stay safe everyone!
    Be back on the weekend.

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