Morning all. Weigh in this week was back down from last week. I’m still feeling a little bloated, so it might drop a bit more over the next couple of days, as long as I can stay away from the bread and sugar.

I do have a giggle when I see you Aussies complaining about the cold in winter. We’ve had a bit of a dreary one so far. May is usually pretty good weather, but this year it’s been pretty cold and grey, they said on the news last night that it’s been our coldest May since 2009. We’ve struggled to get out of single digits on quite a few of the days, but the worst thing has been the wind. It’s been so windy all month, at a time we usually have nice settled calm weather.

Well, have a good one everyone

Anzac, have a super trip! So pleased that your knee is better. Your poor family visiting England; the weather has been rotten for them. I’m sick of it especially when I think that, in a couple of weeks, the days will start to shorten and we’ve hardly had any decent weather yet. I’m pleased you like ‘Clarkson’s Farm’. (Cinque, I didn’t like him at all on the Top Gear show but now I’m his greatest fan.)

Neil, well done with the weight loss. Your description of your weather reminds me of a winter I spent in Queenstown. That wind howling up the valley! We’ve been toying with the concept of relocating to NZ when we get off the boat but the weather is the thing. We know there are milder places on the north island. Perth is becoming increasingly dry so we question the merits of starting from scratch in a hostile climate. For now, we do nothing and keep floating. Making decisions is increasingly difficult with age.

Cinque, here they say, “there’s no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing”. I do commend the British for getting out and doing things in the outdoors regardless of the weather. People faithfully walk their dogs in the pouring rain, go kayaking in a freezing canal and anglers will sit patiently all day in horrid weather. How lovely to care for the grandies, well one of them anyway, How are they all getting along? Hurray for meals ready to go.

DD was here with us again for a night which was a treat. One week down and she’s enjoying her new work-life balance strategy of a three-day work week. (Which might seem funny after 16 months off).

I had a good fast day on Sunday where I didn’t feel hungry at all, just a nice light, empty feeling all day.

There are swans nesting opposite, Canada Geese came over with their goslings to see if they could get a hand-out (no), also a robin and a heron. I always think of Penguin when I see a robin which leads me to think about Merry.

The sun IS shining this morning so I must get out and take advantage.

Alarming news just breaking that Dr M. has gone missing on the Greek island of Symi.

I see they have drones out looking for him, hopefully they find him safe and sound.

Thin, there are certainly some nice places around New Zealand, but like everywhere there are payoffs. Bay of Plenty and Nelson are really nice areas that are usually pretty mild in the winter, but then the payoff is that they are more prone to extreme weather events. Cyclone Gabrielle absolutely destroyed some areas around 18 months ago. Dunedin on the other hand has reasonably settle weather, we have the lowest rainfall of any of the major cities, but the payoff is it can be kind of cold and grey during autumn, winter it can be cold, but is usually calm and sunny.

The last few days it’s been surprisingly mild. May was our coldest May since 2009, but the first week of June I’ve been waking up to temperatures around 12 degrees.

Gday, the flat pack furniture is the bane of my existence. My wife always corralled the kids out of the house whenever I was putting together anything substantial, because she knew that the language that would be coming out of me for the next couple of hours would be strong enough to strip the paint off the walls.

I hope everyone is going ok, and I pray that they find Dr M fine soon.

Good morning everyone,

It was a worry to hear this morning that they still haven’t found Dr Mosley. I think it must be good that they know he made it past the rocky cliff.

Thin, I can imagine you settling happily in NZ… and it would be cool to have you back in the Southern Hemisphere again.

My granddaughters continue to be simply gorgeous. Miss 7 is into dinosaurs (as well as penguins) (she read about giant prehistoric penguins and got hooked), Miss 9 is growing up way too quick, and she made friends with a dog the other day, a big step for such a dogphobic.

I did another batch of bulk cooking (chicken and veg soup, Shrewsbury stew, fish pot pies) so my freezer is stocked again.

So lovely that your DD has more time (a 3 day working week is so civilized!).

Say hello to the swans, robins and herons. So nice to think of Penguin. It is currawong, magpies and pigeons here, and the noisy noisy miners.

Gday, I am so glad you got some rain. How happy that garden will be with water and fertilizer.
Woot for some nice fasts.

Hi Neil, Hi Anzac!
Anzac, enjoy that holiday, so glad you could escape the deluge.

Best wishes all

Such devastating news. Shows how tenuous our lives are and we should treasure every day.

This is so sad. Our dear Dr Mosely is gone and in such a sad way. He gave us all a new future and changed our lives. I’m in tears and yet so grateful. Praying for his wife and children tonight. RIP Dr Mosely and thank you.

Hello to everyone,
I have been reading lots of lovely comments and articles and clips marking Dr Mosley’s sad death. A lot from people who are grateful to him for 5:2 and other shows, and lots from people who worked with him who talking about his kindness in making their interview easy, or the good work he did as producer and behind the scenes.

Like you all, I am so grateful for 5:2 and so appreciative that he really did follow evidence and presented it in a way to get it out into the community and all over the world.

Morning all, weight bounced up again this week, having stomach issues again, which is probably the likely cause since I didn’t go crazy eating last week.

We had our coldest morning of the year so far, it was around -6 degrees, and everything was all white and crunchy.

Good morning from…. yep, cold, grey Melbourne.
I am getting into winter mindset and quite enjoying the winter things.
Nicely comforted by the fact it isn’t as cold here as at Neil’s!

<3 Anzac. I am the same age as Michael Mosley, well, his birthday was in March and mine is… tomorrow! But that has added an extra layer of poignancy, that I am getting up in the morning and making my breakfast, and he can never do that again.

I’ve been doing well with my eating. It makes such a difference to be that little bit healthier (as in CFS symptoms aren’t so bad) and so much easier to plan well around food.

AND I have worked out (you can tell my nature is naturally quite gluttonous) that I am much better off drinking smaller cups of coffee (and tea). I enjoy them just as much, but it feels better (and I don’t go through coffee as quickly).

The Cinque story: learning moderation. One step at a time. Haha.

Neil, I do hope you can figure out how to best manage that nasty bloating. It makes life so hard. But yes, if you have been eating well (moderately 😉 it will be inflammation adding to your weight. Best wishes for a good weekend, and everything settling down.

Gday, I hope your weather is back to normal and your garden is growing happily.

I’m having lunch with my sisters tomorrow. And time with my daughter’s family today.

Sending out best wishes

Happy Birthday Cinque!

Morning all

Weigh in this week was down 1.1 kilos from last week. I’ve been sticking to between 800-1500 calories all week, my stomach isn’t as uncomfortable as it was, but I still feel bloated after eating in the evening. I might try eating half portion in the evening and go to see a doctor if it keeps up after that.

Happy belated birthday Cinque, I hope you had a good one.

Have a great day everyone

Quick hello and happy belated birthday Cinque.

Nothing new to report from me. Weight still steady as I haven’t fasted since my last post but plan to do so this weekend. Have dropped off on exercise lately too and I’ve been eating too late in the day as well as early evening – my previous routine of eating within a four hour window, usually between 11am and 3pm has gone out the window the last few months.

In the hope of getting back into the swing of exercise, better eating patterns and fasting, I’ve complied a weekly nutrition, exercise and fasting program to ensure I fit all of the above into my weekly schedule. A bit regimented I know but I’ve been so adhoc with everything and need to get back into a solid routine if I’m to get back into the 59’s again.

Happy Thursday everyone although was saddened to see this morning the activists desecrating Stonehenge. I don’t get it, protesting about the government’s destroying the planet and oil production and they desecrate a world heritage listed natural structure – doesn’t help their cause at all in my opinion.

PS Gday, I do thankyou for your birthday wishes.
And I am glad to hear the protestors at Stonehenge used chalk paint. Probably less damaging than the pollution in the air and, oh dear, all the rubbish left around at the festival.

Hi all, was nice to see a post yesterday on Dr Clare Bailey (Mosley) Instagram page thanking everyone for their kindness and support on Michaels passing. She is taking a break from the public eye for awhile but will return to carry in Michaels work which is great news.

Extended fast over the weekend (46 hours) wasn’t as long as I intended as a visitor on Sunday after bought food which I felt obliged to eat over a cuppa. Still, 1.3 kg down this morning from Friday mornings weigh in. Being extra mindful of keeping my good carbs to a minimum for the next month so I stay in a medium to high level of ketosis and fast track some weight loss. This will be a good motivator for me to keep everything on track and not stray from my plan.

Must dash, heading out of town today so must get moving

Hello everyone.

I have a new and now finally fully functioning laptop. What with crashing hard drives and new software issues, it’s been a much longer process than I anticipated. I ended up handing everything over to a professional to sort out as it was beyond me. I collected it this morning, fingers crossed that’s the end of the issues. I’ve been managing with an iphone for so many weeks now, that it feels a bit weird to be using a laptop again. The only frustration so far is that the location of the shutdown button is in the same spot as delete was on my old laptop – I’ll leave you to guess how many times I’ve accidentally shutdown in the last hour.

In my absence we had the tragic news of Dr M’s passing. That was as much a shock to me as I’m sure it was to everyone who has found his work on intermittent fasting so very useful and life changing.

I haven’t had time to catch up on posts yet, but once I have I will write better post.

Hello again everyone.

I have caught up on posts, on this page at least.

Cinque, a very happy belated birthday. Glad you are still having fun with your grand-daughters.
I took my youngest great-niece (10) with me to see Luzia – Cirque de Soliel. I loved the performance, but it was made more special seeing the delight through a child’s eyes too. She loves acrobatics and wanted to try everything that the acrobats were doing.

Thin, glad that you and your daughter are safely back in UK after your various travels and getting to spend some time together. The bird life sounds lovely.
Which reminds me that i need to catch up on your blog too.

Neil, Very sensible to see your doctor about those stomach issues.
I hope the news on your cat isn’t as expensive as you fear.
Not sure I am enjoying the shiny new laptop yet – still trying to get used to the software which is 10 years ahead of my old laptop.

GDSA, glad you had some welcome rain.
I smiled when you described feeling obliged to eat food that someone had brought. I also struggle with that one.

Anzac, so glad you enjoyed you holiday in Queensland. Hope the cold and work are not too awful.

Lots of you lamenting the cold.
Every time I think about how cold it is, I remind myself that is still preferable to a hot summer’s day, in my opinion. I am trying to dress properly for the cold with a lot of layers – even my Antarctic thermal leggings are getting another outing. It helps me make careful use of heating. I’m trying to only turn it on when I’m just too chilled to bear it – usually about 10C.
I won’t need to be quite so careful with power use for much longer as I’ve decided to get solar panels installed. Because my power use is fairly modest, I couldn’t justify the cost before, but my electricity bills have increased alarmingly in the last 3 years so it now makes sense.
That decision also led me to commit to doing a number of other things to the house in the next 9-12 months. The result of this is that I will not be travelling overseas next year as I’m now going to spend that money on solar, a major reconfiguration of my built-in storage, security screens, outdoor lighting, and new outdoor furniture. Apart from solar, these are all things that I have wanted to do but have continued to postpone due to cost. I feel ok about the decision to tackle all of this now and then get back to travelling. I will be very happy to not worry about using the aircon in summer and to having storage that actually meets my needs. I’m determined to do all this without dipping into existing savings. So I am needing to save up from my fortnightly superannuation pension to pay for work. It’s encouraging me to be frugal.

My weight and eating has been mostly ok and I’ve continued to manage without my meal planning spreadsheet. Although I think I need to still think about the main things I’m going to cook to help me plan grocery shopping. This week my weight has jumped up a bit and I think it’s because I have been less active due to rain. We have rain forecast every day this week – very unusual for Adelaide. It’s the cold but sunny days I enjoy the most in winter – good for walking or gardening.

Hello to everyone else. Take care all.

Good evening everyone.

A FD for me. Dinner was a veggie stirfry with cauliflower rice. The addition of chilli and some tamari made it very tasty.

Thin, I had never been to Cirque de Soliel before – when they’d been to Australia previously my budget just didn’t allow for it. So it was a major treat to go. It’s why I offered to take my nephew’s kids too, as I knew they wouldn’t be able to afford it. My great nephew decided he didn’t want to go, but his little sister was really excited. It’s really nice to now have the funds to be able to do that. I feel so lucky to finally feel financially secure.
My old laptop was bought in 2010 and was onto it’s second hard drive – which was failing and did fail during data transfer. I’m glad I have something reliable now, but I always feel a little daunted getting used to a much newer windows operating system and Microsoft software. The difference in battery life is amazing. The old one lasted about an hour. The new laptop battery lasts several days as I don’t use it for more than an hour or two each day. I’m even having to remind myself to turn it on and continue on with some of the tasks I should be catching up on. I’m so used to not having a laptop.

Yesterday I mentioned trying to stay warm without using my ducted RC a lot. I have a secret weapon – a furry lap warmer:
https://imgur.com/a/c6ag26i

Take care everyone.

Cinque, fun to have those tamarillos and learn something new. Good for you with your eating management. Poor little grandie, scared of almost all animals. Was that triggered by a bad experience? Farm animals seem a nice, gentle desensitisation activity. I’m not a huge fan but is there a zoo handy? DD’s kindy was opposite the zoo in Perth and we spent many an hour just watching one animal. Or sometimes just watching a cage waiting for an animal to appear. As we had a membership, there was no imperative to race around and see everything at once. DD would whisper, ‘Mum there’s a serval hiding in there and it will come out when those noisy boys have gone”.

LJ, yes, I agree with Cinque, nice to have you posting again but especially your mention of a fast day! My day is still Sunday. Are you doing two days? I reverted to 5:2 after our unhealthy food trip. I haven’t counted calories in years and years (although I remember that you did kindly help me out along the way) but something wasn’t right as I was only dropping 400g per FD instead of my usual 900g. When I took a close look, I realised that I’d introduced a simple Hairy Bikers’ recipe that required low fat coconut milk. Because I don’t use low fat anything, I’d ignored/overlooked that. Turns out the difference in calories was HUGE. And shows that the calorie count is critical and I mustn’t get smug. I’m now back to 6:1.

Nice to have that financial security – and why you moved homes. How long have you been at your not-so-new home now? Imagine the grand nephew declining the circus! Was he sorry afterwards? We’ve seen quite a few of them but, I agree, they’re not cheap. If our DD hadn’t been a vet, or a spy, she wanted to run away with the circus. In primary school, she did a circus course. She learned the lyra, trapeze, silks and rope climbing. She’s never been competitive in sports but she impressed a few boys in high school when she ascended the gym dangling rope thingy in seconds. Maybe your little grand-N could enrol in something like that.

Hi all. LJoyce I’m so glad you enjoyed CdS. I really wanted to take miss GDay but sadly going to events in Adelaide has become unaffordable. I also wanted to book for Johanna Lumley but at just under $200 a ticket I can’t justify it, adding on fuel ($150 round trip) accommodation (hard to find anything under $200 a night) food etc an overnight trip to Adelaide to see a show averages out at about $1000 for us.

Thanks for the MM heads up, I don’t watch free to air tv anymore so wasn’t aware of it. On the odd occasion I might watch something on the ABC (via iview) and a few months ago I gave up watching ABC Breakfast (got sick of the never ending revolving door of presenters). Haven’t watched any of the commercial channels for years.

My routine is going well, up at 5.30am every day and fast asleep by 9-9.30. Have made a few recipes from Clare’s new book – my favourite so far is tofu ice cream although when frozen it becomes more of an ice block than ice cream so I just make a small batch, chill it in the freezer for a few hours before it gets icy and eat it. I’ve made a few different flavours so far, strawberry, blueberry so will keep experimenting. Great way to up the protein intake and feel like I’m having a treat, given ice cream is my absolute favourite treat food.

Must dash and get the dog organised for Sunday morning Dog Club meet up. Bye for now

I month of winter done, 2 to go. I’ve never felt the cold so much as I have this winter.

Neil, I hope you get a negative result from the tests on all counts. Yes, the different brands vary a lot in calories. My biggest food challenge since living on the boat has been never knowing which supermarket or corner store I’ll be shopping at next, not knowing my way away around when I get there and not being familiar with the brands. Of course, we’ve overcome the latter somewhat after nearly five years. The thing I miss most is Carmens muesli. I’ve learned to cope.

Like you GDSA, ice cream is my big treat. Fortunately, I’m limited by the silly little freezer box which is usually full. We only ate Connoisseur in Australia and only when it was on sale as we were too tight to pay $10 for it. Goodness knows what a tub of that costs now. For several years after starting 5:2, I didn’t eat ice cream at all. Here we started buying Ben and Jerry’s but that’s boycotted now due to OH not agreeing with their politics. 🙂 Ridiculously expensive anyway.

I saw the MM tribute programme a couple of weeks ago. If it’s the half hour summary programme of his work. It mentions the famous tape worm experiment. Seemed like such a nice, kind man. After the initial on-site autopsy, I kept thinking we’d get a better explanation of his death like ‘snake bite’ or similar. It just seems like such a terrible, preventable tragedy, a fateful decision almost inconceivable to those of us used to dealing with such searing temperatures. Very sad. A young English lad has since gone missing in Tenerife, last heard of two weeks ago in a frantic phone call saying he was lost in terrain, had no water and 1% battery left on his phone. No trace.

GDSA, I haven’t watched any commercial TV for years. I later gave up the ABC which assisted my BP enormously. Years ago I watched Kerry O’Brien (on the much revered 7.30 Report) literally make up utter nonsense regarding a company story about which OH and I and a handful of others knew the exact details, not released to the press. The standard of BBC journalism is just embarrassing. You can’t read a single paragraph on its website that doesn’t have an error. And its so-called ‘BBC Verify’ – the self-appointed purveyors of truth? Woke national broadcasters should be subscription-funded. These days I believe nothing I read and little of what I see.

Well, there’s a big rant. All is well here except the weather. No more whinging you lot! Today the weather was warmer in Auckland than in Cheshire. I don’t think it will ever stop raining.

Hello everyone, from a beautiful sunny winter’s day in Melbourne, after a cold night!

I’ve my first free day after some busy ones (school holidays). But I must be tireder than I think. I have already burnt myself, spilt things and I keep losing track of time, wish me luck. I want to make a batch of spanikopita triangles for the freezer.

Josie’s fear of dogs is an autism/ADHD thing of overreacting to a perceived threat, and then it spiraling. There is a proper name for it, but I can’t remember what it is. I don’t quite know how it can be overcome, but logic and assurances don’t work! Glad that some one trained is on it.

Ooh, isn’t zoo membership a great thing. (Younger granddaughter goes often with her mum, but Josie chooses to visit me instead. )

Goodness LJoyce, how can it be six years since you moved?
You are so good at strategies. Having a cold weather 800 x 3 strategy is so sensible.

I have the Dr Mosley tribute program ready to record, but plan to watch it live tonight. Thin, I agree, it is such a sad waste. A small fateful mistake, and all the work he put into having a long healthy life, just gone like that.

Gday, a good icecream is such a wonderful treat food so hooray for that tofu recipe.
(Thin I hope you can find someone selling home made icecream so you can have a treat! I just loved making my own, and even the Connoisseur brand seemed wanting in comparison.)

Neil, I thought you had stomach problems months before winter arrived. But wouldn’t it be good if getting back to lots of bike riding did the trick. Fingers crossed that they can cross off all the serious things and find something simple and easily fixed.

I do hope you can grow a tamarillo tree. They really aren’t suited even to Melbourne, but my friend’s one is wonderful and productive, they must have a very sunny protected place for it.
I do like them fresh, but these roasted ones are such a revelation to me. So simple and zingy and they take the place of tomato sauce, cranberry sauce… any condiment! I’m just about finished them, but I wish I had enough to stock my freezer so I could have them all year.

Best Matariki good wishes for the weekend past. And hoping you get some sunny days like we are having…but that big high is stationery over us at the moment, you will have to entice it over to you.

Off to see if I can manage those spanikopitas before the fresh cheeses go off in the fridge.

Best wishes all

Yes I’ve been having stomach issues on and off for a year or so now. My test results all came back normal, including the coeliac one. I might not be coeliac, but my issues always seem to follow after I’ve had more sugar and flour products than normal. I suspect that it’s just my body just can’t deal with those as well anymore. As always, I’ll try to keep my sugar and wheat intake down, but it is so tricky to avoid. The doctor gave me some prescription fibre supplements and will re-check in 4 weeks.

I love the spinach and feta mix, so simple and yet it works so well. Hopefully your burn wasn’t a bad one

We can get tamarillo plants at the local plant shops, and my wife managed to successfully grow rockmelons and okra in our glasshouse, so hopefully tamarillos will work too, we’d just have to keep it cut back to stop it growing out the top of our glasshouse.

Anzac, great that you’re slowly working your way backwards. Hopefully I can join you after my previous 2 weeks saw me drop 2 kilos before my 300g bpunce back this week.

Have a great one everyone

Good evening everyone.

I haven’t even turned on the laptop for a couple of days, so I’m catching a few minutes online while dinner cooks.The absence was due to end of financial year emails which required action from me – I didn’t want to deal with it, so not turning on the laptop was an avoidance tactic.

Neil, I was wondering how you were going to grow tamarillo in Dunedin, then you mentioned a glasshouse. I must admit I’ve never eaten one.

Anzac, although I generally like cold weather, even I’m not happy when it rains every day. It’s the sunny winter days that I love. We had one of those here today and it was just lovely going for a walk with the sun’s rays on my face.

Cinque, I hope that burn wasn’t too severe. Sound’s like you are having a rough day. I think your body is asking for a rest.
You have reminded me that I still have one spinach cheese & leek filo pie in the freezer. That needs to make an appearance at dinner soon. I used to do the triangles, but found a faster way to make dinner sized serves. I get a small enamel pie plate and I lay 3 sheets of filo across it in different directions. I pile in the filling and then fold the overhang over the top. It means just one is a dinner sized serve and it takes me far less time to make. I slip each one (unbaked) into a ziploc bag and then freeze. When I’m ready, I put it back into the same pie plate and bake it in the airfryer or oven.

Thin, there has been a lot of news on the UK election here today. I suspect you are inundated with it as well. Change is afoot it seems.
I am a bit shocked by the number of MPs in the UK lower house 650 sounds excessive to me. I feel better about Australia’s number of MPs now. (151 for 26m compared to 650 for 66m). Although in fairness, we have state parliaments and the UK doesn’t.

Better go, the airfryer has finished cooking 2 tandoori chicken skewers – which will be tipped into the bowl of spinach salad that I have waiting.

Take care all.

Good one Neil!