Hello Southern Hemispherites!!

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  • Good morning SH friends.
    Take my eyes off the site for a few days and things go crazy. So much to read to catch up.
    To all the new folk, welcome This is not a diet but a way of life (WOL). 🙂

    I have been doing 5:2 for almost 11 months, given away more than 20kg, reduced my waist by 22cm with similar off hips and boobs, and great reduction off arms and legs as well. Have gone from size 26 to depending on brand size 20-22. BP is now down to 101/62, and the rest of the household cannot believe my energy levels. I do HIIT on my exercise bike at least three times a week.

    Still need to give away another 40kg, but I know that will happen in time as I will be on this lifestyle for the rest of my life.

    Have a great weekend everyone.
    Charlie. 🙂

    Charlie, inspirational….I do not know what else to say!!! You are testimony to the cliche’ “where there is a will, there is a way”. Massive hugs and kisses from me for this effort…I salute you for the ‘blood, sweat and tears’ to get to this spot. Everyone should be inspired by the trail you have blazed! Please know, I and many others are with you…you go girl..

    Hey Charlie, as always you’re a true legend and inspiration!
    Hope all’s great on the farm and that your baby calves are as entertaining as ever.

    I’m planning a bit of boot-scooting in your honor! Cowgirl hat and boots, studded leather chaps and a fringed leather jacket…..well a girl can dare to dream…..now for a little honky-tonk music to get me into the groove!
    “Don’t tell my heart, my achy-braky heart……” Haha..you get the picture, hope you join me in having a dance of celebration in achieving so much in such a sort time!

    Cheers and keep on keepin’ on!

    Hello every body!

    Hope your weekend is travelling along nicely.

    Thanks everyone for your input, and thank you BKD for putting on your serious hat momentarily to ‘throw your hat in the ring’, much appreciated 🙂 I think I shall come to a similar conclusion to you 🙂 We shall see! I can’t imagine myself less than 62kg, that’s the top end of my healthy weight range, but who knows? I guess these are always hotly debated topics and each and every one of us has to find our own way through, but I greatly appreciate the support and encouragement. I guess I find ‘obese’ such a negative word, a bit like ‘diet’…. hehe but I’m a big girl and I shall get over it! Onward and upwards!

    Thank you Melbourne Mum, I shall investigate the series that you mentioned 🙂 I have surprised myself that I have come to love exercise, and I think a lot of it has to do with challenging myself… I’m doing stuff that I would never have thought possible, living life and loving every minute of it. I’ve come to realise that it’s not only possible to change your beliefs and thinking, that’s it’s really beneficial to turn things around and understand why we beleive what we believe… a bit of mental house keeping so to speak. I have tossed out an awful lot! 🙂

    Charlie you are amazing and I concur! I’m in for the long haul already! Loving this way of life!

    Enjoy the rest of your weekend lovelies!

    Hi everyone. It certainly has become a very busy forum with lots of varying opinions. Well, I started 5:2 on 19 June. I set a goal of 60kg, got to that and decided to go a little more to 58kg and have reached that as of a week ago. That’s a 7kg weight loss. This coincided with me starting back to the gym last Saturday so what a great day! I love this WOE, because I can have functions, work lunches or date nights with my darling husband, and if I blow my calories every so often it’s ok, because I’ll just return to the discipline and thoroughly enjoy my fast days.

    Well done to each and everyone here, no matter whether you are at the beginning of or well into your journey. It’s a great achievement.

    My husband asked me yesterday how I will manage my eating when we go to Hawaii in December. I really don’t think it will be much of a drama as my stomach has shrunk so I just can’t eat as much anymore, and we will be doing lots of great activities as well.

    After about 12 months of feeling quite unwell, lots of headaches, and just generally blah, I am feeling so much better, happier in my own skin and motivated to get back into my gym routine. I’m so grateful to have learnt about 5:2.

    Enjoy the rest of the weekend one and all

    Well done Jojo, it’s great to hear that you’re doing so well and easily achieved more than your goal, a real sense of mastery and confidence….and that’s worth more than anything!

    Thankyou IHAW, that’s so kind of you. There are members here who have achieved so much and are so committed to their health and greatly improving the longevity of their life. I didn’t have a lot to lose but still struggled (and will continue to from time to time I’m sure) with giving up some of the eating style I’d become accustomed to. So to read stories like Charlie’s, PVE, Bay, yourself and many others actually brings a tear to my eye and a smile to my face. Odd, isn’t it, how we can be so affected by the achievements of someone we’ve never met?

    It’s my son’s 16th birthday today, so I’m heading to the kitchen to bake bread, cakes, make ganache, chocolate mousse, pizzas, cookies, hummus, raspberry swirl baked cheesecakes, lemonade, juices, oh and last night I made tiramisu and a herb and garlic dip, will then pit together the cheeseboard and fruit platter! And tomorrow? I shall fast! Happy Sunday

    Hi Jojo, happy birthday to your son, my son was 28 yesterday….there’s certainly a lot of Librans around!
    Any chance of dropping into your place for lunch? Sounds delicious! What a fine feast!

    Hello Southies! I love reading all the positive posts here. It’s such a great new world this 5:2 I think I’m in love! Another .5 off this week.10.9 to go. It’s funny , I find, that even on non fast days, I’m not really wanting to eat like a crazy hungry person. I found my calorie book and have been making lists of all the things I eat regularly, and generally just watching what goes in. Feeling really positive for the first time in years! Love it! Hope you are all feeling great out there. Happy Bathurst Day too, if you like racing. I’ll be feeding and quenching a telly bound hubby today. Cheers all 🙂

    Hi All!!
    Well, I’m ready to rock and roll for my first day tomorrow…..kicking off with a fast day! I have organised what I’ll be eating which is….
    Skipping in the brekkie, but with a black tea or coffee.
    Lunch – vegetarian rice paper rolls (x2) for 134 cals
    Dinner – Chicken & Leek Pie for 286 cals.
    This leaves me with 80 cals leftover so I might be able to have a piece of fruit, or milk in my tea/coffee, or even some diet jelly for 7 cals!!
    I hope this sounds “right”!?!?

    Hi all,

    I am going into my fourth week of 5:2. So far, so good. Though as expected the weight loss has slowed this week from the initial two weeks. What I was wondering was whether people track their calories on non-fast days. I’m just thinking that maybe eating what I feel like eating on non-fast days is a bit too much freedom. Do people tend to try and be careful on non-fast days too? Any advice/experiences?

    Hi all

    I was just wondering if anyone has noticed an easier fast day after a previous day of “good” eating (low processed carb, healthy low GI carbs, good protein) compared with a day of highly processed carbs?

    Thanks

    Hi JJ,
    I use Myfitnesspal to track my calories 6 days a week and give myself Sunday as a eat whatever day. I try to stay under 1600 on my non fast days which is my TDEE minus 500 cals. 🙂

    @fastina do we need to take 500cals away from our total TDEE (in which case, my TDEE is 2239 minus 500 cals is 1739) so I don’t go over 1700 cals for my non fast days? I was actually not going to go over 1500 cals!

    Hi Katietas,

    Yes. I notice that eating processed carbs makes the next day hard. I minimise processed carbs on all days.

    Asha, Michael Mosley suggests a maximum of 2000 cals. If you are trying to lose weight, then a max of 1500 cals seems reasonable. During my Fast Days I have a max of 400 cals. Whatever works for you.

    Cheers, Bay 🙂

    Thanks Fastina,

    I may have to do something similar though I have to admit that tracking is something I was hoping I wouldn’t have to do on non-fasting days.

    Hi all I read somewhere that 5:2 is not recommended for ppl post surgery. I am due to have a knee replacement on November 3rd so wondering how long I have to wait post surgery to resume my new way of living. Also does anyone know why it is not recommended.
    Thanks for your input.

    Morning all, week two day one. Well after last week I thought why the hell am I bothering. Second fast day I was sooo hungry but resisted temptation. Had a bad blow out over the weekend but still managed to lose 1.8Kg. (insert pause – got up to do a little happy dance) So that just pumped me up for a really GOOD fast day and an amazing week (hopefully ;p )
    Went into Melbourne yesterday to watch a friend run the Melbourne Marathon – hubby and I probs walked the half marathon by the time we tracked him – but it made me ask the question why would anyone voluntarily run 42kms for fun! BUT, it did make me feel guilty for the lack of exercise in my past and I made a vow to do more in the future – for MY future.

    So as I sit and drink my black tea planning the days menu I feel empowered to keep going.

    Good luck for the week, my fingers will feel lighter on the keyboard next week. 🙂

    Good morning SH mates.

    Aussiegirl63, I had my second knee replacement done in August 2013 and resumed fasting as soon as I went home with no ill-effects. Admittedly, I hadn’t said that I practised IF but certainly wasn’t warned about any eating practices.

    Hi everyone,

    I am thinking of starting today as I haven’t eaten yet,
    I am just not sure what to eat on a fasting day? if you want could you just live on diet jelly all day? (I’m not planning to do this just curious)

    I am thinking of having a green smoothie for late lunch then maybe just snack on carrots and stuff later.

    I am worried I will find this hard as I am a bit of a fussy eater.

    I am male so I think I am allowed 600 calories?
    What do most of you do on your normal days?

    I decided to try this as I am quite a lot overweight and have been trying to lose weight since march, I have had success overall but find it hard to measure everything I eat, I have already lost about 15-16kg, but have a lot more to go.

    B C

    Question Please: if my TDEE is 1697 should I deduct 500 cals on my non fast days in order to lose excess weight (about 30kg)?

    NickyF: thank you for the feedback. I saw it mentioned in the FAQ’s above, so was a bit concerned. Didn’t know why it would be a problem. Hospital food should kickstart it anyway lol!

    Hi B C and welcome to the thread.

    One of the many beauties of this way of living is that no food is forbidden, you just, as a male, have to stay below 600C on a fast day. Some people hold off for as long as possible before eating but as I work on fast days, I always have a small breakfast with my husband before leaving for work, then nothing except black tea or water until dinner time. Today dinner is carrot ‘pasta’ with veg sauce and a sprinkle of parmesan. My FDs usually work out to about 400C.

    On ‘normal’ days I try to stay below my TDEE but others are much more stringent and not surprisingly, lose weight more quickly.

    Best wishes, Nicky.

    Hi all, I’ve just joined the communnity, and started 5:2 last Thursday. I’ve worked out my TDEE, which is quite low at 1299 and my FD cals at 325 which is a 1/4 of my TDEE. Is that correct? I read somewhere on this forum, that you take off 500 from your TDEE to calculate your FD cals.
    I’ve had my first fast day last Thursday and did alright. But went over my TDEE by about 100 cals on the Fri, Sat & Sun, (darn that extra wine!). I plan to stick to my TDEE today, and my next fast day is tomorrow. Just want to know if I’ve calculated my figures correctly. Thanks

    Good afternoon to you all! Happy Monday 🙂

    Good luck to those fasting today. I decided to switch to Monday this week as after 3 days of normal eating I just felt like I needed a break! So this is my 3rd fast day, so far so good. Haven’t been on the scales yet, but am feeling really good. Side note: Having an awesome thunderstorm here at the minute, I just LOVE thunder!

    MelbourneMum I’ve been watching the ‘Men that Made us Fat’ series on YouTube (thanks Pattience for the tip), it’s very interesting watching indeed 🙂

    Big medicine ball workout this morning, Zumba starts up again tonight, so excited, love it when you can exercise and have so much fun at the same time! Zumba is so good for my mood, I always leave beaming 🙂

    AussieGirl you don’t need to deduct the 500 cals from your TDEE on a normal day, you can eat up to your TDEE and still lose weight. However, if you want to lose more quickly, or have a large number to tackle, some choose to stay well below their TDEE. Others choose to do 4:3 in place of 5:2, or even fast every second day if their weight loss is not happening or if they have plateaud. This is just info I’ve gathered from reading the forums, everyone is different. As this is only my second week, I’m sticking with 5:2 and trying to stay within the bounds of my TDEE (which is 2100 so I’m not finding it difficult at all) on my non fast days and see how I go. If after a few weeks I’m not getting the results I was hoping for, then I’ll reassess. You just have to give it a go and see what works for you 🙂

    I have to admit over the past week on my non fasting days I’ve been a bit like a kid at Christmas. After so many years of restriction and trying to stick to unrealistic long term calorie restriction is so nice to be free to eat whatever I choose, whilst staying under my TDEE or course. I have to keep checking myself because I start to feel bad, guilty even, then I remind myself that I’m free of that, I don’t need to beat myself up for enjoying good food! Such a different mind set.

    B.C. at present on my fast days I try not to eat at all for as long as I can. My first fast day I had breakfast and found myself starving by about 2pm, so from that day onwards I’ve been holding off as long as I can and have found it much easier. Breakfast seems to kick start me and I’m often not hungry in the morning on any day. When I can’t hold out any longer I have a boiled egg and a piece of fruit (about 150 cal), and then I wait till dinner which is a small portion of chicken breast (about 80gm uncooked) with a very ‘no frills’ salad i.e. lettuce, tomato, cucumber, capsicum onion with no dressing etc. It gets me through the day, and I very much remind myself ‘it’s just one day’ (thanks for that tip whoever it was!) Congrats on your weight loss so far, that’s awesome!

    Hope the rest of your day is full of good things!

    My friends always tell me that I talk a lot … think it must be true… my posts are always so long 🙂 I’ll have to work on that!

    Hi Aussigirl and Graceland

    Welcome to your new way of life = WOL. I would begin by eating up to your TDEE on non fast days ( max 2000 calories) and eating up to max 500 calories on fast days, if you feel like that much food. Far better to establish the routine of fasting and then to reduce your calories as you go. Naturally, you do not eat just for the sake of reaching a calorie total. You only eat when you are hungry. Do not graze on food.

    Have you read the Michael Mosley 5:2 diet book? He spells out the reasons behind this WOL. And why you choose a certain number of calories. Best to keep it simple at the beginning and see how you go. The book has some good fast day recipes in it. It’s available in Australia online if not at a book shop near you.

    Remember to drink lots of water, 2 litres per day, and to use your fast day calories on lean protein and green vegetables. Whenever you feel hungry, just say to yourself. It’s only one day.

    Enjoy your new WOL. Cheers, Bay 😆

    Graceland I had to go and check, because I wasn’t sure, but it’s not 1/4 of your TDEE, but 1/4 of a ‘normal days eating’… which is 500 cal. Here’s the link if you’d like to read:

    http://thefastdiet.co.uk/how-many-calories-on-a-non-fast-day/

    Good luck!

    Thanks Shelloui. I think I’m still confused. From what I’ve read, a normal day’s eating to maintain current weight is what your TDEE comes in at, based on age, height, & current weight. And you eat a 1/4 of normal day cals for fast day.

    As each one is different, and I am quite small, I guess the 2000c for a normal day, and 500c for a fast day may be too much for me to lose weight?

    So I would eat up to my TDEE on normal days, and a 1/4 of that on my fast days. That’s what I’ve been trying to day anyway. Hope I’ve got this right.

    Yep! That’s my understanding @asha78 That’s why I try to stay under 1600 on my non fasting days but I’ve been tracking calories for a long time on MFP and I’d like to be less strict in monitoring intake on non-fast days once I see a pattern of loss or maybe once I am half way to my goal. I think part of making it a sustainable way of life is not being to extreme or too strict.

    Hi Graceland, when I saw your first post I thought you must be a shortie like me. Welcome! And yes, what you’ve been doing in eating 1/4 TDEE on fast days is the essence of 5:2. It’s just a more modest amount than our taller friends get to enjoy. I find it easier to only eat one meal on fast days, and you do get to know which foods are more satisfying per calorie. As everyone says – lean protein and veg, particularly grean leafies.

    Welcome all newbies! I look forward to getting to know you. Check in here regularly (especially on fast days) for encouragement and support. If you stick with it, over time you will find your body will change, as will your relationship with food.

    Happy fast day everyone! 🙂

    Hi MelbourneMum, thanks for your reply. Glad to hear I’ve been doing this correctly.
    Yes I’m a shortie too, and also a Melbourne mum

    Also, thank you to all for your encouragement and support. As a newbie, this is all daunting, but hopefully I’ll get there.

    Thanks everybody for all your input, and Graceland I’m glad that you’re on the right track.

    I have to confess… I’m slightly confused!

    I’m a shortie to, at 5’2″… the only thing I can put it down to is that I exercise a lot … because my TDEE is actually 2418, but I decided that was just to much food, so am staying under 2000 on non fast days, and 500 on fast days… will see how it goes!

    Thanks Bay

    I found my second fast day harder than the first, because I gave myself all the things I promised myself (even though I didn’t particularly crave them) after the first fast day! I’m sure I will settle in soon and not go silly after fasting!

    K

    Seeing as people are talking about TDEE, what is TDEE? and BMR?

    For BMR it says 2568 and TDEE 3081, which sounds like a huge amount.

    I did read it on http://thefastdiet.co.uk/how-many-calories-on-a-non-fast-day/ but got a confused

    Hi fellow Aussies this is my first fast day. Hope to be able to report success with this new way of eating over the next few months. Cheers

    Hi BC, it doesn’t go into much detail on BMR (basal metabolic rate), what seems to be more important is your BMI (body mass index) and your TDEE (total daily energy expenditure. 3081 seems about normal for a man. Essentially that is the amount of calories you need to expend to maintain your weight without gaining or losing. So that converts into the amount you need to eat for the day. Obviously you need to eat less than that to lose weight and conversely more to gain weight.

    Graceland, as I am a small woman, my TDEE is 1400 or thereabouts, so on fast days I limit myself to 350 cals. At first I started with the 500 cals and it was probably the best way to start. Just follow the guidelines set out by MM to begin with and once you get into the swing of things then start altering it. For example I started off with a couple of small meals a day and working at 500 cals but as I got more used to it I calculated the 1/4 TDEE and followed that, but of course that is now always shifting downwards! Now I also just have the one meal in the evening. I find that if I eat earlier in the day it throws me right off and I might as well chuck in the towel for the day. In fact I did just that one day last week.

    I am actually not fasting today. I was unwell yesterday with a bug and did an inadvertent fast, losing a kilo in the process. Thought I had better not push the issue today and will be looking forward to Thursday.
    HB

    Hope you shake this bug and feel better soon Aitchbee.

    Hi guys.

    Hey BC BMR is ur energy expenditure discounting any activity. If u were to sleep 24hrs BMR would be the calories required to maintain ur bodyweight.

    TDEE is a statistical estimate of calorie usage factoring in lifestyle characteristics. My TDEE is 3100 cals which ive found to be a little high (ie if I consume 3100cals/day I gain weight).

    Morning all.

    Hello and a warm welcome to those new fasters who’ve joined this forum. Altho’ it seems daunting at first, I’m sure you’ll all get the hang of it soon. Remember it’s a marathon, not a sprint. So slow and steady, being patient and recording all your measurements as you go. Whether you use a tracker like this site has, or another system, it’s so important to see for yourself where you’ve been and where you’re going….set some realistic goals for your vital health indicators too, (eg blood pressure, cholesterol, blood glucose, resting heart rate, snoring, or other issues which might be plaguing you.)

    So far this morning i’m happy because I’m now 22kg down and my thinner thighs are even seeing fresh air and sunshine for the first time in decades!!!! I may even try on a pair of swimmers this summer….and wear them in public!! Shock, horror!

    Anyway, I’m feeling so much more confident in my body at the moment and although it’s somewhat unusual for me to feel this way, I’m kind of enjoying this feeling of having a body which feels and looks more toned and mores more easily. I think I’ll do a happy dance, maybe something along the lines of a solo Morris dance? (anyone remember those be-ribboned, flower-decked, jingle-belled dancers from the ’80’s folk music circles? Haha, I’m showing my age!)

    Cheers everyone.

    IHAW

    Thanks for my morning chuckle. 😆 well done. Enjoy your new swimmers. I love mine and flaunted them on the beach in Maui.

    Maui is a good place to stay on track. We had most evening meals of seafood and salads, with a glass of wine, plus Greek yogurt and berries for breakfast. Sometimes we didn’t bother with lunch, other times a salad. Black coffee from kiosk near beach was the usual American coffee plus a shot of espresso. Could be drunk hot or cold. Very nice.

    To encourage everyone in their personal goals, I would like to share a small boast this morning. I have finally cracked the healthy 0.5 waist to height ratio. This was a dream goal of mine when I began on this WOL in January 2014. 🙂 I literally cannot remember when I last met this ratio.

    Along with the loss of 17 kg and 20 cms off my waist, and down three clothing sizes, my BP meds are down, and my waist to height ratio is now 0.5. Woohoo, please give me a suitable dance 😆 IHAW.

    Cheers, Bay 🙂

    IHAW, wow 22kgs. What an inspiration you are! Can’t wait till I am happy to put my thighs back in swimmers. What I am learning here (very quickly) is that it will happen if I just keep going.

    Hi, it’s my second fast day today. Just a question: do you adjust your TDEE and therefore your fast day calories when weight drops? I have lost 900g since starting last Thursday (it has been up and down but this morning it stands at a 900g loss after five days). Should my fast day calories today remain the same as my first FD or should I be adjusting it? It is quite low a it is. Thanks in advance.

    Thanks Bay, I’ll also do a hula dance in celebration of you achievement and being in the splendid Maui!

    Grace, please, please just take it slow and easy for the first few weeks, until you are more confident. After a while, if you like you can change your TDEE to suit your new weight, but for the moment just get used to the newness of it all. Most of all be kind and gentle with yourself!

    Hi Grace

    Gently does it. No need to adjust your fast day calories for a month. Then see how you feel. You are already on the low side and getting results. 😆 Best to get the fasting routine under your belt. Then play around if you need to speed up the process.

    BTW I found that giving up all processed carbs and sugar had a far faster effect on weight loss than reducing to a very low calorie intake. It’s all a personal experiment for each of us.

    Well done, Bay 🙂

    Ooo, a hula dance! I feel special. Thanks, Bay 🙂

    Thanks Bay. Feel relieved to hear that. I think the reason my weight loss was significant was because I ate way less than my TDEE yesterday. Wasn’t feeling too well and suffering badly with hay fever didn’t help. I’m not in a hurry and want this to be a healthy journey. Thanks again.

    Well done IHAW and Bayleaf! Inspirational stuff.
    Bayleaf I just went and checked my waist:height. Not quite there yet. Soon.

    Thanks everyone for the replies,

    I think I did alright for my first fast day, I had some jelly around 1:30 when my stomach wouldn’t be quiet, then dinner at 6:30 which was 540 calories, I then had another jelly at about 9:00.

    In total my calorie intake was 596.

    I also drank 3 litres of water, which I normally do and needed to use the toilet a lot more than usual, is this linked to not eating a lot or just a coincidence?

    How often do you weigh yourself?
    I usually weigh myself every Friday and record it but will randomly look at my weight but not record it.

    Today I was down 1.6kg since friday

    Hi everyone and welcome Biggles69.

    Bay, well done on 0.5 H:W. I need to be MUCH taller 😆

    Unfortunately blew yesterday’s FD into just over 600C. Planned, as you know, pasta last night. When I got home from work, OH had been tidying the fridge (love him for his excellent housekeeping, doing the jobs I hate) and found a piece of leftover roast beef from a few days ago and suggested that with steamed greens. Fine thinks I, prepare greens and sliced the beef, absentmindedly eating a couple of slices. That plus what was on my plate amounted to about 150g. Not bad I thought but this morning did the calculations! 🙁

    Another (better) FD today with last night’s planned meal to come. Should average out to <500C for each day. Will also do mini-FD tomorrow with a small tin of tuna just before weights so I don’t run out of steam.

    Another cold day here. Dug out thermals because feel the cold more since I lost some insulation 😉

    Happy Tuesday all.

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