Hello Southern Hemispherites!!

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  • Lindsay – I hope you and your OH are doing OK. A stressful time. Glad to hear that the cancer had been identified and a plan of attack was sorted quickly. And kind medical care makes such a difference to the experience. Both my FIL and Dad went through cancer treatment in recent years and it brings lots of emotions. Thinking of you <3

    Neil – how’s it going with your food rules? Did the Dunstan trail go well? Hope you are enjoying the long weekend  I choose to do a Sunday fast so that the Monday holiday feels like a holiday.

    Cinque – how’s the simplified food plan going?

    Thin – I’m amazed by your story of the sensors in supermarkets in England! Do you simply register your bank account so you can walk out with whatever you have in your trolley without interacting with any kind of till? No weighing or anything! Talking about weight – so good that you have a light frame now to make all those adventures you are on much more enjoyable. I’m imagining a 25kg bag on your back and how much harder it would make life carrying it constantly.

    Gday – love the batch cooking! You must have a huge freezer. Tried looking for the Care Mosley Zucchini cake online – is this the one? (https://www.instagram.com/p/CTMqAaPsssu/?utm_medium=share_sheet&epik=dj0yJnU9X0R2WnB1VUVFUl9UamtWa3NDaGVjMmJHbmNYS1pHQkomcD0wJm49Q29aNnpFYWw4dHZUaHVNYm5ZSkVTUSZ0PUFBQUFBR0Yxd0pB) Yeah for the lost cms – your clothes will be giving you some good feedback.

    LJoyce – I see that part of the reason MM likes apples is their affect on the gut as he says they are “high in pectin, high in polyphenol antioxidents, and they increase the production of butyrate, the short-chain fatty acid that feeds ‘good’ bacteria.” Perhaps they offer more in terms of other fruits not just based on their sugar content but overall health benefit??? Cinque – six punnets of strawberries! Wow. Will listen to this link when able to.

    Helen Kate – lovely that you can look forward to having your DD with you at Christmas. It does feel like the countdown to Christmas is ramping up!

    Charlie – ohhh a Christmas goal – love it! We’ll all be celebrating with you as you get under the 100kg mark. I have a Christmas goal too …but as my OH wisely counselled (he’s seen all my ups and downs!) – make consistency the goal and the actual number goal will eventually be reached. I know in past attempts to lose the weight I would get very discouraged with plateaus and quit – this time I’m determined to be consistent and get there eventually.

    Hope everyone’s week has started well 🙂

    Morning all

    I’m back from my cycle trip and it was a whole lot of fun. There was grunty climbs, technical descents, winding narrow trails, suspension bridges, cantilever bridges, cruisey lakeside trails, coffee off the back of a boat, little bits through the trees and outstanding scenery. It was 60km each way which was around 3 hours a day of cycling. I’m back home now and a bit sore but thoroughly satisfied with the ride.

    Today is Labour Day so I’ll have a bit of a rest and then get a bit of garden stuff done.

    Have a great day everyone

    Good morning,

    Day after fast day, feeling good. My simple food plan is going well. Still tweaking, of course.

    Thinking of you Lindsay.

    Helen Kate, I do hope you had a lovely time with Paddy, and are enjoying this fascinating journey of watching non fast days evolve.

    I’m so delighted that it is looking good for your DD and partner to be with you for Christmas. Yay!

    Charlie, Hooray for being in the 105’s! Just a little celebration then
    https://www.tornado-studios.com/sites/default/files/styles/slider_full/public/products/859/gallery/pansies_standing_tumbnail_square_0000.jpg?itok=7qYJr-U5
    Come on that ‘below 100!’

    Wo! What is happening with your life that you are getting up at 6am? You’ve either got a herd of milking cows, or you are driving the school bus. maybe?
    I do hope the farm related events were positive ones. If the new exciting projects came out of them, I am thinking yes, they were positive.

    Ha Thin, keeping your family and friends in line 🙂 I was still very happy to have a birthday cake, but everyone had to understand I wasn’t having a piece of it. Same with any desserts.
    You are exactly right that there are plenty of non food things to spoil ourselves with, I do spoil myself enjoying the company.

    Hello Hannah! Lovely to read your catch up. I do hope you are going well among busy kid life and trying to 5:2. Is it starting to meld into a way of life?
    Sending lots of good wishes

    Neil, what a fab ride, and how nice to have a day at home after it. I hope the weather is good for gardening.

    I’m off to have a little breakfast and then see what I can get done today.

    Lots of good wishes to everyone.

    Morning all,

    It was a good day yesterday, I had a bit of a rest in the morning and then got about 3 hours of garden work done in our local community garden. It’s been pretty neglected so I spent some time clearing out a few of the gardens ready for planting.

    Back to work this morning but hopefully I can get a ride in this evening or a bit more garden work done.

    Have a great week everyone

    Yes Hannah that’s the cake. We have 4 freezers in total and 2 fridges – there is a fridge/freezer combo in the house, an upright freezer and a fridge in the office/gym and 2 chest freezers in the car shed. We are on the look out for second hand fridge for our outdoor kitchen area too….lol. I know it seems like a lot but as you can see I do a lot of batch cooking, as well as making lots of ferments (sauerkraut, caulikraut, kombucha etc) which need refrigerating and we also have ducks and chickens so lots of eggs to store. When the chooks and ducks are laying well (which they are at the moment) we can get up to 2 dozen eggs per day and if they are kept refrigerated they will keep fresh for months.

    Hi all

    Thinking of you and your OH Lindsay. I hope all is going as well as it can

    Thin, while I remember, you asked about steps and KMs. 5km is about 6,500 steps. I hope you get to the Canary Islands

    I am back on the fasting horse and weight is slowly going down. I am still 93.8 so a long way from my goal, a long way from my success in 2019 of getting to 82 but also a long way from my heaviest of 98.9 I am happy with progress, even if slow.

    Work is crazy but a little better. I missed my walk today for the first time in ages and that annoyed me; but I had to do something very urgent so I was up at 6.00am and it took my until 9.40am and the endless, relentless round of meetings always start at 10.00am. Sigh

    Gosh G’day, you are going from strength to strength and you must be so pleased with your progress and level of fitness. Very inspiring!

    HK, you described my blow out exactly as it was. Like a horse with a nose-bag but that is over. Glad you are doing so well with your FD’s and give Paddy a pat for me.

    Wow Charlie, you are so busy too! It’s ok if you don’t post all the time, we are always here and many of us have to defer posting when life gets crazy

    Hannah I totally agree that consistency is the key. It’s not my forte but I am really trying to get into a pattern too. Keep that determination in the foreground

    Neil I think if I even did the first 100m of that bike ride I would be falling over in a heap. Enjoy the gardening

    It was our 29th wedding anniversary yesterday but we celebrated at a café on Saturday lunch time. Mr Anzac cooked a roast chook dinner for us (including my Dad) last night. I can’t believe how quickly the time is going

    Have run out of time again….hello dear Cinque, LJ, Betsy, Jony, Cali (I hear it is finally raining in California!)

    Anzac, Happy Belated 29th Anniversary! Thanks for the depressing confirmation on no. of steps/pavement trodden. Are you excited about your holidays?

    Hannah, I haven’t tested the till-less shops as they’re in London but, yes, exactly as you describe as far as I know except perhaps not necessarily the trolley but your own bags. The app does it all. Some of these things sound so scary at first, don’t they, and then before we know it they’ve become the norm. I remember the first time I heard that one day soon we’d be able to ‘see’ the person we’re speaking to on the phone and they us. I thought that sounded awful. And I remember being the first of my friends to get an answering machine in the eighties and for years hearing comments about how they ‘hate talking on those things’. So funny when you think back.

    Anyway, it’s a dreary, overcast day here. Toasty warm on the boat. Just popped in to make sure everyone is healthy and happy. Any travel plans for those of you in the ‘opening up’ states/territories?

    Morning all

    well we received some bad news here this morning. There were two Covid cases reported in the South Island. The two cases were from the same family, but they were both unvaccinated, had been feeling unwell for over a week, and had not been using the Covid tracer app. It just goes to show that it only takes one idiot to ruin things for everyone.

    I’m expecting to hear of more cases outside of Christchurch soon 🙁

    Good morning,
    Fast day for me.

    Neil, so sorry to hear that news. Fingers crossed NZ might be lucky that the spread is slow and the vaccination rate can get sorted ahead of it.

    What a lovely lot of eggs, Gday.

    Anzac, it will be worth going slow and steady I think, as it gives time for habits to change and our brains and pantry and even our tastes can change,

    Your next job with that work contract had better be to renegotiate which meetings are really necessary for you! And I hope they have breaks timetabled in so that you get time for a walk or some activity every hour. Your health is the most important thing!

    Happy belated anniversary wishes!
    https://media.istockphoto.com/photos/bouquet-of-pink-flowers-for-a-wedding-anniversary-picture-id454066327?k=20&m=454066327&s=612×612&w=0&h=h3J7Hj4nnp56DHuYzkQD0R8iyFwylGmIbL5l2z2RE9E=

    Thin, haha yes, those technological changes can be hard to get used to. I think I’d love the no checkout one, but I hope I can check through what they have charged me for, until I get to trust it.

    The final ‘Australian Health Revolution’ Mosley show was on last night. The second was my favourite episode, but glad to watch it, and my sister and her newly diagnosed Diabetes type 2 partner also watched it and didn’t let Dr Mosley irritate them too much.
    They went on about apples again! And apologies for saying that fibre isn’t important with DT2, I can’t even go back and work out the nuance I was thinking of (haven’t had my coffee yet). But the people who weren’t getting into ketosis were the ones eating lots of fruit.

    I’ve got chicken and veggies on my menu this morning, and a bowl of brothy veggie soup if I need it too.

    Sending best wishes to everyone.

    Good morning all from a sunny day in Sydney

    Neil, no! This dratted virus just keeps popping up. I hope it gets contained quickly

    I am so excited about the holidays Thin. Fiji is looking a bit worrying as we need to get a PCR test to come home no more than 72 hours before we get on the plane and that will be difficult as we are on an island. We are working through options but if we can’t do it we will have to cancel. Boo

    Thank you for the flowers for our anniversary and for the horrible work thing Cinque. They are lovely. Happy FD and enjoy your chicken and veges

    I hope your busy days are not so busy that you are exhausted LJ. How did your dinner for 10 go? We have the whole family coming in early December so that will be 10 too (plus two toddlers). We are doing tapas

    I’m having a terrific week food and exercise wise so I expect a big drop on the scales. Nay, I DEMAND a big drop on the scales. That should work right?

    Take care all, he to everyone

    Anzac, re the PCR test, good luck, I hope it works as efficiently as it did here. The ‘fit to fly back’ test has been scrapped altogether and the ‘Day Two’ PCR test on return replaced with the cheaper, easier lateral flow test.

    I’m sure you’ve seen this?: https://www.fiji.travel/travellingtofiji
    “Selected clinics in Nadi and Suva will be able to issue you with a fast and convenient negative RT-PCR test for your return. A rapid COVID-19 test costs approximately $35 FJD but some countries require an RT-PCR test which costs approximately $350 FJD. Currently testing can be done at the locations below:
    Dr Zen’s Clinics (various locations)
    Nasese Private Hospital (Suva) (679) 331-4450”

    It did make me laugh that they can provide you with a ‘negative test’. Even if you’re positive? And ouch re: the cost!

    Yes Thin, lucky for Fiji we are truly desperate to get back to our favourite non-adventure place in the world. We have to pay AUD 150 each for a proper ‘airline’ PCR test to go over and FJD 350 (equiv approx AUD 225) each to come home

    Luckily we booked when Fiji reopening was just a rumour and got some great prices for accommodation and were able to book business class airfares (we don’t do economy any more) with our FF points. It is still a WIP regarding logistics of getting the test over there but I’m much more hopeful. Yay!

    Thanks so much for the info

    Greetings everyone,
    Neil, feeling for you, we are quite concerned as in the last week hundreds of cases locally in our part of regional Victoria. Did a quick shop today in one of our small towns, four ply masks and heaps of sanitiser. Each only went into places on our own, hopefully to lesson the risk.
    Move forward to the weekend, and we have our first guests from Melbourne, young family with the parents double vaccinated.
    We are now fully booked from then until early Feb next year, so life is about to get crazy, as the pace is also picking up on the farm, pregnancy testing all the girls over the next two weeks, collecting semen from bulls, sorting out which young bulls are good enough to stay bulls, and catching a moment or two in the veggie garden.
    This morning I said goodbye to the 105’s, with a 104.9kg weight in, just 200g to go to have lost 8kg in three months, so happy.
    Anzac, belated anniversary wishes, well done on the milestone.
    Off to bed now, lots of washing tomorrow as power industry workers check out in the morning, then bed making, cleaning, and cooking for this weekends guests. So proud of myself that I can cook for guests, and not be inclined to try anymore, amazing how we can retrain our brains and our bodies.
    Have a great weekend everyone, kinda long weekend, as Melbourne Cup on Tuesday, doesn’t affect us, but means thousands of visitors locally.
    Cheers for now, Charlie.

    Anzac, those are eye-watering costs for PCR testing. They were expensive here to start with, but not that bad. The annoying thing was that it was exactly the same test as one can get free in boxes of seven from any pharmacy. There was no way around it, a passenger locator form had to be completed on-line in order to get a govt.-generated QR code for the airline or you couldn’t get boarding pass, and on that form, you had to provide an individual code from the PCR testing company who’d sold you the test kit. No queues or messing about on return – the whole process was electronically linked to your passport so, on return, immigration could verify compliance.

    So glad you got a great deal on everything else though and, hey, you’re a hard-working couple with no children, business class all the way I say.

    CharlieG, loved reading your post about collecting the semen and the pregnancy testing. My DD is terrified of doing the latter, such a responsibility that a cow might go to slaughter if she gets it wrong. Well done on that unstoppable weight loss.

    Neil, don’t worry, surely they can deal with two cases in a pop. as small as NZ’s but I agree, humans are so damned irritating. I miss hearing your tales of sending your lads round to the neighbours to stack wood for them and so on. How are they?

    Cinque, I think you’d be able to check your ‘app’ to make sure there weren’t any errors in the shopping charges! But how would you prove it I wonder? “I definitely did NOT have any ice cream in my backpack.” What might appeal to me is eliminating some of the steps of moving the same items into the trolley, onto the conveyor belt, back into the trolley, into the car, out of the car and then in the kitchen.

    Lindsay, thinking of you and OH. I’m sure you have more important things to do than write here but, just in case you’re reading, you haven’t been forgotten.

    Morning all

    Well today is my annual day of ageing. As a present I’m working by myself for the next 2 weeks because one of my workmates is on holiday and the other is self isolating at home because she was in Christchurch over the long weekend where the two covid cases were. It’s got super busy so I’m absolutely swamped. Happy birthday to me, happy birthday to me 🙁

    Thin, both my boys spend 90% of their time in their bedrooms these days. The older one has discovered a love for art, he’s decided he wants to make a career out of it so he spends all afternoon in his room painting, drawing, carving, cutting things out with a craft knife. I’m happy with that. The younger one has become horribly addicted to games and chatting to his mates online and spends all day in his room doing that, I’m not as happy about that. He only emerges to eat or when I force him to leave.

    I’ve been doing some work in our local neglected community garden in the evenings recently. I’ve been finding it quite therapeutic to clear out the jungles, prepare the soil, and get it all planted out with vegetables. I’m unlikely to reap the benefits of it because there are a lot of people around who just wait for someone else to do all the work and then swoop in to pinch all the fruit and veggies, but we have plenty in our home garden and the benefit I get from it is the peace and happiness from being outside working in the sun.

    well I hope everyone is good
    Have a great day

    Happy birthday Neil! I’m so sorry you are stuck at work on your own and swamped

    I don’t know how some people look at themselves in the mirror. How can they let themselves take the community fruit and vegges if they don’t contribute? Ugh but there are these sorts everywhere I’m afraid

    I’ve just done a 5km walk around my hilly suburb, and I’ve been doing 4-5km every day. I’m on low carbs but the weight refuses to budge. I’m trying not to get despondent because we all know where that leads……

    Have a great day all

    Good morning,
    Lovely morning after fast day and I have lost one of those inches from my waist. Woot!

    Happy Birthday Neil!
    https://www.funimada.com/assets/images/cards/big/bday-509.gif

    Great community work, as well as keeping yourself fit and busy, you are contributing to the health of your whole community.

    It has been a wild night here, with the wind screaming against the window most of the night, but no damage, although the broad beans have taken a hiding.

    I listened to an interesting podcast yesterday. I especially thought you would be interested in it Gday. It is with Ray Kelly, the exercise physiologist who co presented of the program we have been talking about. https://twitter.com/i/broadcasts/1OyKADwWdXNxb It gets more and more interesting as it goes.

    This was my favourite quote: “I’ve seen some amazing transformations, and the one thing they’ve all had in common is they’ve slipped up. But the other thing they’ve had in common is they’ve gotten back on track”

    Anzac, it is hard when you are doing all the good things and your weight doesn’t budge. But it will!

    Does anyone have experience with spaghetti squash? My latest fixation. My daughter has been getting them in her veg box delivery and is giving them to me.
    I baked one (cut in half lengthways) and got a lovely pile of strands, however I might have overcooked it a bit. But a great meal with meatballs, pasta sauce and salad.
    The next one is older (it was from the week before) and I will try it but thinking it might be even less tasty. But I have found a new you tube of a better way to fork it.
    And since some seeds were sprouting when I opened the first one I have already planted it. My idea is that, if I perfect the cooking, it is a very easy way to have a pasta substitute.
    I want tips for growing, storing, cooking and eating!

    Okay, time to go and see what I can make of today. Yikes, they are just issuing another wind warning.

    Cheers all

    Good morning everyone

    I’m sitting in the dentist’s waiting room waiting for a checkup. He’s running late, so it’s a welcome opportunity for me to catch up on posts.

    I’ve had such busy days for a week and next week doesn’t look any better. A few appointments were moved when I had the last lung infection and all ended up crowed into this fortnight.

    The family dinner on Sunday went well. As usual I’m shocked at the amount they eat. I cooked 3 deboned chickens and all the adult men were disappointed there wasn’t enough for seconds. It might have to cook 4 next time!

    I’ve finally had the stitches out – it wasn’t ready when I went in on Saturday so I had to return Tuesday. The scar looks very neat, but they put steristrips and a dressing on it for another fortnight. Apparently this makes a narrower scar more likely. My nephew used my skin cancer removal as a teaching moment, telling his son that this is what happens when you don’t put sunblock on.

    Happy birthday Neil and happy anniversary Anzac.
    Well done too on the exercise – I need to emulate that.

    Cinque, we had the storms here too – high winds, rain and hail. I hope your property escaped damage. Mine did and I was lucky enough to not lose power, like many other parts of Adelaide.

    Charlie, wonderful news that you are fully booked. I hope it’s steady business from now on.

    Hello to everyone else. Hope you are doing ok.

    I was good with my eating at the Sunday dinner but have struggled to get back into the eating pattern I had in the previous fortnight. I am not giving up though.

    Take care.

    Hello from Christchurch all…thankful that we are are still Level 2 here and have not had to go into lockdown. Everyone here is a little on edge – waiting to see what the next week brings in terms of spread and levels.

    Thank you for the lovely good wishes Cinque – yes the fasting is going well and definitely is feeling like it fits in well as a WOL. I used to think that the days I was not at work would really be tricky to fast…however I’ve done a fast day today and was not working and it’s been great. I think that now that I’m five weeks in to this WOE it has become almost routine and so doesn’t require the mental gymnastics that previously accompanied following it. I love the next day feeling – so good waking after a fast day feeling triumphant. Yah for the inch you have said goodbye to!!!

    Gday – I’m amazed by your “collection” of freezers and fridges – it sounds wonderfully organised! I made the Zucchini cake and it was yummy. Obviously a very different taste and texture to regular cake but everyone in the family liked it. I can’t imagine making it particularly often but it always is good to have a recipe that is high in protein/good fats and low in sugar.

    Happy birthday Neil! Your work in the community garden sounds very therapeutic and peaceful. I hope you see the fruit of your hardwork

    Congratulations Anzac on the anniversary – one more til your 30th – do you have plans for next year’s celebration? Hahahaha – I had to laugh with you, Thin, over your research of the Fiji covid testing – that they can provide you with a ‘negative test’. I actually lived in Fiji for 8 years growing up (my family moved there when I was 10) and I can just imagine the wording! I hope you have a wonderful time there Anzac.

    Charlie – yeah for 8kg gone over 3 months! Impressive

    LJoyce – three chickens – yikes! You’ll have to get a bigger oven to cook more than that :O

    Hope the upcoming weekend goes well for all.

    Evening All,
    Neil, hope you have had a lovely birthday, your work in the community garden sounds very therapeutic, and I hope you get some benefits from all your hard work.
    LJoyce, how many were you feeding, sounds like some very greedy males coming back looking for seconds, and yes lovely to have all the bookings, just hope I can keep up with all the bread making and cooking it involves, let alone all the washing and cleaning, along with my other jobs around the farm.
    That’s why my day usually starts at 6am.
    Tonight as I type this, I am listening to chickens cheeping in their eggs as they begin hatching, after tonight covering our veggies as frost is predicted for the next few nights, bar humbug, my tomatoes are over a metre high, and the zucchini’s are growing really well, let alone the potatoes are in full leaf.
    Hope it all works,
    Ah well time for bed,
    Hello to everyone I haven’t mentioned, especially Lindsay, hope things are progressing well, and please know we are all thinking of you, and sending healing thoughts.
    Charlie.

    Cinque, I love spaghetti squash. Delicious strands of yumminess. We used to buy it regularly in Perth and then, suddenly, it was never to be seen on the shelves again. I’m afraid I can’t help with your questions but I used to bake them cut in half lengthwise with a layer of bolognaise sauce under tin foil much like a stuffed marrow. The ‘spaghetti’ is so dense and just keeps on coming so I’d scoop out the remains and use it over several subsequent meals. These days, I make my bolognaise sauce with brown lentils. I don’t think I ever froze it but as for how to eat it – straight out of its natural shell! No class.

    Hannah, great to know that you’re in the swing of this WOL now. I bet it was fun to spend some of your childhood in Fiji. Do you have any family members still living there?

    LJ, good that the scar is healing well. That’s a lot of chicken eating.

    Happy Birthday Neil. Like Anzac, I’m surprised that people (especially New Zealanders) would have the gall to nick products from the community garden. You could put up a camera trap and then, having identified the culprits, ask them how they enjoyed their zucchini. Thanks for the update on your boys, shame they don’t want to go with you to help you dig. Ah the scourge of technology.

    Good morning,

    Guess who was outside the opshop at 9am! What a treat it was to wander around and check everything out. Mostly I was keen to grab the remaining 4 bowls (just before lockdown I saw them and bought 2. I was right to think they were a perfect size and shape for me so I was keen to get the other 4), and I also scored 2 100% linen tshirts and another very nice top.

    LJoyce, I am so glad the dinner went well. keep them wanting more! 😉
    So glad your stitches are out and your teeth have been checked and the storm didn’t do much damage.

    I noticed a big tree limb down on the way to the op shop, and my niece in a nearby suburb is without power until tomorrow, but all good here.

    Good luck with the next week, and managing your eating pattern.
    Mine is going well. Hmm, well every few days I eat more than my plan, but only a little bit (eg a hadful of walnuts) I seem to get back to it the next day and feel so good I think it is okay. Fingers crossed. (Evenings still hardest).

    Hello Hannah,
    Hooray for nailing fast days when you are at home as well as when you are at work.
    What a relief to have 5:2 fitting nicely into life.

    Charlie, goodness me yes, lots of work from early in the morning. So lovely for your guests to have that beautiful home made food. No wonder you are booked out.
    I hope the chickens hatched beautifully, what fun to have the little fluffballs.
    Did your precious veggies survive the frost?

    Thin, thankyou so much for those tales of spaghetti squash. I can’t wait to try that.

    Well, I am tired after my morning outing, but it has been lovely sitting here catching up. I have just had a brunch of those beancurd skin rolls I made a while ago and they were great defrosted and microwaved til they were hot. I am definietely making them again. And then I had my coffee.

    lots of good wishes to you Lindsay and Mr Lindsay.
    Best wishes to everyone

    Cinque, good op shop finds. I love beancurd skins too. Forgotten all about them. I’m fasting today a day early as the boat comes out of the water for one week on Monday and I arranged a pet-sitting gig nearby for five nights of it but the owner asked if we could also stay the night before she leaves – my Sunday FD. I didn’t want to chance it just in case she’s prepared supper.

    I’m planning the next one for the following Friday thinking, when the lady returns that evening, I could reasonably prepare us all a meal comprising the FD chicken and bacon casserole (with a huge baked potato for her and OH) without entering into any protracted discussions about fasting. We spend the rest of that weekend in a hotel so no hope there.

    I’m managing to stay under 59kg but only just.

    Testing testing 123

    Just posted and it went astray, so will coma back again later…..so frustrating
    Turn

    Good afternoon all from a warm, windy, blue sky day in Kaikoura.

    Yes, we have finally moved on, arriving end of day last Tuesday when the fog had rolled in off the sea and camped till Friday!!! Anyway got lots of walking in, then had a baking day on Friday to catch up, not quite knowing when we are moving on again. Kinda playing the waiting game here over the weekend as we have to be in Christchurch for a van service on Tuesday but waiting for more Covid details as it has finally arrived in the Southern city. We spoke to the van company on Friday and one of their staff was away getting tested as she was a contact of one of the infected. Apart from that though it looks as though we will be OK. It doesn’t sound like there are any more new cases down here today so we should be dropping camp in the morning and heading away.

    All good with us apart from uncertain travel plans, these we just have to factor into our lives these days! Still hovering around 64.5 to 65.3 but have had a hiatus for about a month, I shall fill you in on more of that later, best off now to check the washing hasn’t ended up in the sea before we walk down to the coffee shop! Holiday weekend here this weekend, also the beginning of a two week Crayfest – (Crayfish festival) so lots of scrummy food options on offer at the local eateries!

    Enjoy the rest of your Sunday everyone,
    Turn

    Just testing testing 123

    It happens periodically Turn and yes VERY frustrating. I now type into a word document and copy/paste due to this happening one time too many! Looking forward to your eventual post….

    Quick post as I have a full day of study ahead of me.

    Just wanted to post some stats of my journey since the 28th June this year. Weight reduced from 82.3 to 68.1 (14.2kg down), BMI reduced from 30.2 (obese) to 24.9 (healthy range). Of the weight loss, 12.2 kg was body fat and 2.1kg was lean mass. Not concerned about the lean mass loss as that will increase as I continue strength training. So that’s 3.1kg to go to meet my first goal weight of 65kg. I can see that I still have some body fat to lose so once I reach 65, I will reset my goal to 62kg and then re-evaluate again.

    Thanks for the link Cinque, I will try to listen this week.

    Tuesday morning here in my little home,
    Very glad to hear that Victoria’s new covid case numbers are under 1,000 today. Finally.

    Hello Thin, I hope you are having a lovely petstitting time. And that if you were offered supper, it was a delicious one that didn’t mess you around at all.

    Turnabout, your post did make it through in among your ‘testings’. Lovely to hear your news. I do hope you get safely to your van service today.
    The crayfest sounds great!

    Not much news here. A hotter day, so looking after my garden. Eating sensibly, wishing I could do more. I’ll go and try to do some stuff now.

    ciao

    Morning all

    Gday, you’re a machine! Great work on the loss this year, I guess I managed to find the weight that you’ve lost.

    My weight continues to be stubborn and not wanting to drop down to the double digits again. I have started a new regime yesterday that hopefully will help. I’m getting up early and taking my bike down to the gym, doing my strength training for 30-40 minutes before I start work, then taking my bike home at the end of the day. That on top of trying to be stricter with the less processed food, less sugar, no alcohol, more fruit+veg etc. Luckily it’s getting into the time of year where there is a bit more variety of fruit and veg in the supermarkets and we’re getting more growing in our gardens.

    Well, got to get back to work. I hope you all have a great day.

    Morning all

    Well weigh-in today and my weight is up to my highest for long time 102.4kg. I was expecting a rise this week though because I started my strength training and last time I did weights I gained weight before I started losing it. I guess your body pumps up the muscles when you start strength training before it starts burning through fat. I’ll be interested to see what happens next week.

    I’m making progress on the community garden, I’ve managed to find someone in the community that has a rotary hoe that they’re willing to lend me, so that will help a lot with getting some of the overgrown gardens turned over and have the compost mixed through once I’ve removed all the weeds.

    I hope you all have a great day, I’ll catch up with you later.

    Good morning everyone.

    My eating last week was not great as I found it difficult to get back into my restricted low cal days after the family dinner on the Sunday. After several failed attempts to restart last week, I finally succeeded this Monday and am back to my strict regime. I still need to lift my game when it comes to exercise too, although I have managed a short walk this morning without getting more than lightly damp from the drizzle. I’ve been frustrated by the number of days I’ve made it carefully through to the evening, only to overeat then. I seem to have perfected snatching defeat from the jaws of victory!

    Neil, I experienced something similar years ago when I got into weight training. My weight went up by several kgs, but I went down a whole size in clothing. I’d suggest you take weekly measurements in addition to weighing as you might find the same thing is happening.

    GDSA, excellent work, given how many months you fought to find a path back to a lighter healthier body I’m so pleased to hear that you have succeeded.

    Turn, lovely to hear how you are going. That crayfish festival sounds good – as long as you watch the creamy accompaniments the actual crayfish is pretty low cal.

    Cinque, I hope you and your garden survived the hot day – the heat was fairly unpleasant here too. If you continue to get the SA weather, rain is coming.

    Charlie, newly hatched chicks, how lovely. We always had chickens growing up and having new chicks was a delight. Hope your veggie patch survived the frost.
    I also hope that your B&B guests have started to arrive by now and are enjoying being on the farm.

    Thin, enjoy your do minding stint. I imagine it feels a little strange to have all the space of a house when you have been confined to a narrow boat for so long.

    Hannah, I have soft spot for Christchurch. It’s one of very few places I’ve ever been where I thought “I could live here”.
    I hope your local covid outbreak is now under control.

    I have an appointment for a third covid vaccine dose tomorrow. Although the first two were AZ I apparently need to have Pfizer this time. Because I’m immune compromised, they are hoping that by having a third dose my antibody level will increase to a similar level of protection that most other people achieved with two doses. I’m glad to have it done now as our state borders lift at the end of the month and I really do need to be adequately vaccinated by then. We’ve been pretty isolated in SA and haven’t had any outbreaks that weren’t brought swiftly under control. It’s going to be a big mind shift here to “living with covid”. I think it’s time though.

    I hope you are all having a good day. Take care.

    Afternoon

    Ljoyce, I’m not overly worried about my weight at the moment, it would be nice if it drops down, but getting up early to do my exercise before work has got me feeling pretty good. I’m working on developing better eating, exercise and sleep habits and the weight should follow once that is finally sorted. It has taken me a fair while to get that sorted though. The sleep is certainly happening at the moment. Doing weight training in the morning and then riding home up the two big hills has left me exhausted in the evenings and I’ve been in bed just after 9:30pm whereas I was often staying up to over 11pm before. But I’m waking up about 6am feeling refreshed so I must be getting a decent amount of sleep.

    Hopefully you can get the kinks in your routine worked out too. That evening eating is definitely my downfall as well.

    It’s the kind of day that I’m glad I have no chocolate in the house.

    Hello
    I haven’t posted for ages and don’t have time now – Italian class looming and homework not done – but had to respond to your message, dear Cinque. It made me laugh and also made me feel for you – I’m sorry you are having a bad day and hope it gets much better very quickly.
    And Lindsay, thinking often of you and Mr L and within you well.
    Cheers
    HK

    Morning all,

    I hope you managed to stave off the temptation Cinque.

    Helen, Italian class sounds good, my brother is trying to learn Italian. He spent some time over there a couple of years back and I think he is pining to return.

    Another day in the books yesterday, I’m getting there with my eating. Yesterday I had a banana, whey protein and psyllium husks after my morning workout, Avocado for morning tea, egg salad for lunch with a couple of kiwifruit, then roasted eggplant and cauliflower with couscous for dinner. The only slip was my sister-in-law dropped around some Indian sweets for Diwali so I ate a square of barfi.

    Today is similar so far, my standard post workout banana, protein and psyllium husks, avocado for snack, lunch I have some salad with smoked salmon, and then for dinner we have some lamb chops with more salad and maybe some kumara.

    I have managed to cut down the sugar this week but not eliminate it completely. Hopefully I can wean off it and next week be completely sugar free (except for the natural stuff in fruit)

    Have a good one everyone, I hope to hear from you all soon, it’s been a bit quiet in here recently.

    Not much to report Neil. Our little Shih Tzu charge is easy to take care of except that he’s clearly fed from the table as he sits begging throughout our meals. He gets no human food from us. After letting him out around 9.30pm, he takes himself off to bed in his own bedroom which is amusing. He’s a funny dog in that he doesn’t play.

    LJ, funnily enough, we are just marking time and can’t wait to get our boat back. It’s a warm, spacious and comfortable house but the suburb is depressing. I’ve never seen so many unhealthy, unfit looking people. We were dodging immobility scooters (as OH likes to call them) all afternoon yesterday. We don’t find the boat confining probably because we always have such beautiful views of countryside. Do you find the same, Turn?

    Also, I’ve never been one for ‘stuff’ and clutter but living on a boat makes you really think about what you actually need. I think we could all do well to stop the mindless consuming.

    Cinque, there was no supper so I heated up some leftover Creamy Tuscan Chicken when our host went off to collect her gentleman friend. I’ve made and frozen the chicken and bacon casserole for their return on Friday evening and my FD. We’re not getting enough exercise though as the environs just aren’t that pleasant.

    Greetings Everyone,
    Thin, what an unusual experience with the neighbourhood, I guess having never lived near a town, I hadn’t thought that such a place could exist.
    I can see why you will be glad to get back to your boat.
    Neil, I have found that it’s not just the added sugar that matters, I have started down the path of pushing my body to keto, after watching Dr Mosely on how to push diabetes into remission, as my parents generation in my family that are still alive are full of it, and I don’t want to get it.
    After eight days of no sugar, no carbs and limited low fructose fruit, I began loosing around 200-400 grams a day. I am planning to keep this up for at least 12 weeks.
    Cinque, I hope your day got better, chocolate is definitely my downfall, non in this house at present either.
    LJoyce, yes, loving our little chickens, they have already started to grow their wing feathers, and have nearly doubled in size in just over five days. There are some amazing personalities amongst them, there are three or four that when you put your hand into the brooder box they run up to your hand and peck at my gold wedding ring, very cheeky.
    Sadly the frost bit the top of my big tomato, as the cover drooped onto it that night, he is now recovering, by sprouting below where the frost burnt through the stem, thankfully I hope they are now all gone as all the frost tender plants are now planted in the garden.
    Lindsay, and Mr L, hoping that you are in the best place you can be, sending healing thoughts and prayers your direction.
    Gday, that is an amazing loss, and your are to be congratulated, I can’t come close to that, I have lost 8kg since 27th of July, and OH is down 5.6kg since early August. Both of us are very happy.
    Hello to others out there that might be reading behind the scenes, have a great weekend everyone, we will be doing cattle work if it is fine, calves need to be weighed for 200 day growth.
    Cheers for now, Charlie.

    CharlieG, you are doing so well, congratulations to you both. GDSA, if I forgot to say the same to you, apologies, I certainly thought it.

    My hosts’ greenhouse tomatoes look impressive but when I went in to gather a few of the ripest for her return tomorrow, I noticed they were split open right across the sphere on their undersides. She’d asked me to water them daily which I haven’t done as the soil was already quite moist, well, soggy I would have said. CharlieG, or anyone of you clever gardeners, do you know what causes this?

    Did you get many positives from your recent pregnancy testing? We’ve been watching a lot of vetty things while here including, The Yorkshire Vet and All Creatures Great & Small series 2. I also read the first 100+ pages of The SuperVet’s hardback which was lying around here. I didn’t particularly warm to the vet in his TV series – and he still annoys me but not for the reasons I thought as it turns out. Funny how one’s impressions can be so wrong. Meanwhile, my DD has just sent me a series of photos of her performing her very first forelimb amputation on a Frenchie.

    We must now force ourselves out into the neighbourhood for a walk. Cold, dreary, depressing.

    Morning all.

    Thin, I think tomatoes splitting is usually caused by lack of water, they’re thirsty little buggars. Begging at the table doesn’t necessarily mean that the dog is fed from the table. All dogs have FOMO when it comes to food. My parents dog is fed outside and put outside when they are having meals, but we dropped around some Diwali snacks to them last night and my dad started tucking into some murukku and the dog was staring at every bite 😉

    Charlie, I don’t eat much fruit, a couple of gold kiwifruit a day to aid digestion (and because they taste bloody good) I’ve been adding a banana in the mornings when I’ve had a workout. Other than that, my downfall has been added sugar. If I cut that out I would be doing a lot better. I was on low starchy carb, high fruit and veg, meat and nuts when I first started on fast800 and managed to drop 24 kilos in the first 12 weeks, I don’t know why I’m struggling with willpower this time around.

    I had a good ride last night. I started at the start of the harbour and worked my way around the edge of the harbour for 10km and then back 10km. There was a strong wind tunnelling down the harbour so on the way up I was struggling to average 20kph, on the way back I had it behind me and was flying at an average speed of 35kph. It was an exhilarating return ride.

    We had some good news yesterday. Our new baskets showed up for the frisbee golf course we’re putting into the local park so this weekend we will be installing those, then in a few weeks we’ll start putting in the tee-pads. Hopefully we’ll have all the course finished before the Christmas Holidays so the local kids have another activity to keep them occupied.

    Well have a good weekend everyone

    Thin, splitting in fruit is caused when the fruit, in your case tomatoes, receive inconsistent amounts of water. All fruits and veg like the same amount of water at the same time every day (or week etc, depending on the climate). This is why watering systems on timers are so effective in producing quality fruit and veg. Tomatoes also don’t like wet feet so if the soil is continually soggy, give it a chance to dry out a bit before the next water.

    Neil, unfortunately for those wanting to lose body fat, any amount of sugar or carb will hinder the loss. Carbs in veg is okay (but stick to low carb ones) but any other form or carb will have an impact. All sugar (in any form) needs to go, unfortunately this also means fruit, with the exception of a small amount of berries. Remember that this is while one is trying to lose body fat. Once the weight goal/body fat percentage has been achieved, and while still strength training, it’s okay to add small amounts of other healthy carbs and sugars (fruits only – no other sugars) back into the diet.

    This is why – While the body is ingesting sugar and carbs (body turns carbs into sugars, so really carbs are just another form of sugar) it will burn sugar for energy first. It doesn’t matter how much exercise is done, body fat will not be used for energy (burned) while there is sugar in the system. When there is no sugar in the system, the body then turns to body fat to use for energy and hence we starting losing body fat and weight. That is why the keto diet is so effective to lose body fat and weight.

    Bananas and Kiwi fruit are high in carbs, so even though they are good for us because of the fibre content, they are bad for us if we are wanting to lose body fat. So Neil, 2 kiwi fruit and one banana per day on top of any other incidental sugars and carbs in the diet won’t allow the body to burn body fat, it will just keep burning sugar. I know that’s not what you want to hear Neil but it’s been scientifically proven time and time again. My own weight loss is also testament to this.

    There’s lot of fruits (and carbs – ohhh I so love chickpeas) that I would love to eat at the moment but I’ve just got to wait until I’m happy with my body fat percentage and then I will have them in very small amounts. For me, the need to get back to a weight and body fat percentage I’m happy with outweighs the need to eat certain foods. I know I can eat them again one day soon when I’m in maintenance mode, but for now, I have to abstain.

    Oh my the shops of full of Christmas stuff already. I’m not a Christmas person, just go through the motions for Miss GDay’s sake, although now she’s a teenager she’s not so fussed about it all. Can’t stand Christmas carols/songs, putting up and packing up the tree is an absolute pain and the mindless consumerism and spending on presents really annoys the hell out of me. Thanks goodness I only go food shopping once a fortnight and rarely go into any other shops. There’s my gripe for the week over!

    Oh, Mr GDAy no longer wants a pizza oven, he nearly died when he got a quote on the price to build a brick one (I did warn him they were expensive) and we are now the proud owners of another fridge/freezer (haha), second hand $120, perfect working order, for our outdoor kitchen. Two shelves are full of my ferments (kombucha, sauerkraut and collikraut and the other shelf with Mr GDays non alcoholic beer.

    Have to find time this weekend to make more sauerkraut as I’m down to my last half a jar, have 4 red cabbages in the fridge ready to go. Garden, vegie patch and orchard is absolutely booming. Finally, 5 years after planting the Red Delicious and Granny Smith apple trees we have apples growing. Discovered a few half eaten by birds so the tree (I say tree, because to save space I planted both trees in the same hole and intertwined them as they grew) now has an enormous bird netting structure over it, looks a bit like a mosque. And our year old pomegranate tree has fruit, as well as the almond tree, lemon, lime, orange, blueberries, strawberries and mulberries. Vegie patch is full of carrots, garlic, spring onions, brown onions, leeks, baby spinach, swish chard and more. The herb garden is also looking amazing and I’m delighting in adding them to my cooking.

    Oh dear, this was going to be a short post. Must go as I’m supposed to be doing study.

    Hello,
    I need to lie down but I had to put in my tuppence worth about split tomatoes too. 😀
    My understanding is the inconsistent watering goes: they dry out, then get a big water and split open.
    I reckon the owner let them dry out by accident, gave them a big water and remembered to ask you to water them consistently… but damage done!

    Hooray no-chocolate-in-the-house meant I had king oyster mushrooms and halloumi instead, not nearly as damaging. And I had a good day yesterday.

    LJoyce, I do hope you have been able to have some lovely exercise.
    My garden survived the heat okay, even the baby lettuces, and the huge rain was okay too, although the rust fungus is thriving on my broadbeans.

    HK, thankyou for your lovely quick post, I saw it and appreciated it.
    Thank you too, Neil.

    Thin, so sorry it is such a drab neighbourhood, I hope you find some tiny delights among it all. The dog does sound funny.

    Charlie hooray the tomato has found a way to recover, and cheers for you losing weight like a pro now.

    Gdaym haha re the pizza oven. The garden sounds fantastic! Cheers re the lovely fermentation going on. I’m having mince and kimchi meatballs with veggies for my midday meal.

    Lindsay, every day more good wishes heading your way xxx

    Cheers everyone. I need to lie down before I eat and I am getting hungry! :0

    Gday, I didn’t find that at all, I ate plenty of fruit when I was initially dropping weight, and when I reached my plateau between 87-89kg I did my “whole 30” month where I ate pretty much nothing but fruit, veg, meat and eggs, I ate plenty of starchy veg there as well and I still dropped 5 kilos that month getting to my lowest ever adult weight of 84 kg.

    My issue this time has been my inability to resist eating sugary and starchy foods. I know I shouldn’t eat them, but I just can’t seem to stop once I get a taste. And it’s only added sugar that triggers that too. I eat my kiwifruit and don’t get the urge to go on a sugar/carb binge. I’ve been a lot better this week though since I started doing my morning strength training and getting to bed at a good time. We’ll see what the scales say for me on Wednesday.

    I agree with and Cinque you on the tomatoes, I remember I used to pick cherries as a summer job when I was at university and if we got a really heavy rainfall during the picking season we would have to get out and strip pick the cherries because they would all split from going from the usual dry conditions of Central Otago to a sudden influx of water.

    We just got the long range forecast for the summer and signs are it’s supposed to be warmer and drier than usual over the next 3 months, I’m looking forward to that because our last summer was disappointingly wet and cold.

    Well have a great weekend everyone.

    Neil, Cinque and GDSA, many thanks for replying with the useful info about the tomatoes splitting. What you wrote Cinque does make perfect sense. Our host returns tonight but we’re staying until tomorrow. We spend the rest of the weekend at a (very basic) hotel. But it’s near the canal network so I’m looking forward to resuming long walks. It’s a FD for me today which reminds me to go to the garage to get the dinner from the freezer (there’s no indoor freezer of any description).

    GDSA, wow, someone who’s even more of a Christmas grinch than I. DD is the only person we buy anything for and she requests only experiences and adventure, no ‘things’ to cart around the world. I completely agree with your sentiments on the shops with their irritating music pushing mince pies from flipping October. The saturation completely spoils any joy in what is, after all, a two day event (or one for CalifD). It’s funny how the climate change protestors never seem to want to address the two things that, in my mind, would make the greatest individual difference – mindless consuming and mindless breeding.

    I don’t think we’ve ever gone two whole days without a post on this thread before.

    Morning all

    Yes it has been very quiet here recently. I guess everyone is starting to get busy going into the silly season?

    I had a good weekend. We got the new frisbee golf course put in and I had my first round on it yesterday. It’s a beautiful little course. We had a combined birthday party for my sister and I, first bbq of the season became it was such a nice day.

    Back to work today, I hope everyone else is well even if they’re not posting

    Have a great day everyone.

    Good morning,

    I’m very hayfevery at the moment, and left a window open last night which I am blaming for how badly my nose is running this morning! Zyrtec taken.

    I’m going okay but was feeling too crook to fast yesterday. Being sensible though.

    Thin, I hope you had a nice end to your dog sitting and are happily back on your boat now.

    I have a sister whose birthday is in a couple of weeks and she gets VERY ANNOYED to hear Christmas talk before her birthday. Which is tricky because we want to organise Christmas at her place 😀 😀 😀
    I’m pretty much family focused for Christmas, but delighted to do lots of virtual greeting and fun here!

    Sending cheers to everyone, especially thinking of you Lindsay.

    Oh I know what I meant to say after reading Gday write about carbs and then Neil’s response. This is depressing to say, but my body keeps changing, to be more and more sensitive to carbs-setting-off-the-intolerable-hunger.

    First I cut out sugar, including fruit, and I could eat what I want and as much as I wanted – apart from sugar- and the weight just dropped off me. 15kg
    But then it plateaued and started going back on.
    Then I 5:2’d and woot lost another 15kg.

    I expected that 5:2 would keep me at my healthy weight and that I would gradually be able to eat fruit again and maybe even chocolate.
    I carefully checked myself and was confident my bread wasn’t a problem and small amounts of pasta and rice were fine.

    But now I have changed again. Even my slow-rise mixed-grain bread seems to be a problem (I will try it again with more fibre in it). I have put on about 7 kg over the last few years and I am really struggling to get them off again.

    Very disappointed that my body seems to be trying new tricks to get my weight back up again, and not sure where it will end. But going lower carb does seem to be helping greatly.

    Haha Cinque I was about to post the same comment as you about the body changing and adapting to our food intake and therefore the need to constantly evaluate and change from what we have done in the past. Like you, what I did 4 years ago doesn’t work for me now, it’s a game of trial and error that’s for sure, the human body is one very smart piece of machinery.

    Thin, we can be Christmas Grinch’s together. The only people I buy for are Mr Gday and Miss Gday and I will only buy something that they want or need, no surprise useless gifts. The same for my gift, it must be a practical item that I want or need.

    I’m off to the gym shortly to help instruct a group of 11-17 year olds through a strength and conditioning program so bye for now.

    Greetings All,
    Greet to catch up on all your posts, birthday done and dusted, and very little weight gain. Today I did my belt up an extra notch, and my new size 18 jeans are starting to get baggy.
    Veggie patch is thriving, and more seedlings are nearly ready to plant out. At present we are at war with the Satin Bower Birds. Now the veggies are not only fenced to keep the cats out, but now netted to control birds, they have broken off at ground level two broccoli plants, and I only had five to start with as they were self sown.
    Now they have turned their attention to our raspberries, stealing the fruit as it starts to colour up. Can’t net it fully at present as bees are still busy pollinating.
    Loving having heaps of lettuce, coloured silver beet, and Savoy cabbages, meals are very easy at present with hens laying heaps of eggs as well.
    Keep up the good work everyone, oh and by the way, we are also Christmas Grinches. OH’s family is quite disfunctional, so we never see his siblings, all our parents are dead, and no children close by, so we just have a special lunch, no presents, they are for birthdays. My other bugbear is hot cross buns in the shops the week after Christmas.
    Enjoy the rest of the week everyone, will check back in at the weekend,
    Lindsay, and Mr Lindsay, sending positive healing thoughts your way,
    Charlie.

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