@cait from Melbourne – it must be extremely frustrating and a bit depressing not to have lost anything while your hubby is. I’m also doing the 5:2 with my husband (only week 3) and keeping a food diary keeps us totally honest about our food consumption on non-fast days so perhaps you could try this. I don’t own scales as I prefer to feel the difference in my clothes and see in measurements – so far 4cm down around the middle after just four fast days. 🙂

We are actually finding the empty tummy feeling on our fast days oddly comforting creating an increased awareness of how much food we need on ‘feast’ days – not so much as it turns out! Feeling hungry and not acting on it is ok and it creates a better awareness of what and how much we are putting into our mouths.

I continue to find that the day after a fast day my food consumption is quite minimal as I feel very full quite quickly almost to the point of queasiness. Thankfully, no more fast day headaches after week one so for all those new to it, stick it out, it appears to be a common side effect that will disappear.

It’s a fast day tomorrow as today was a special Christmas bake-off morning tea at work and I gave myself permission to partake in moderation. Love the flexibility of this WOE.

Jools

Hi rmg … my headaches were never as severe as yours. I just drank a lot of water and took 2 paracetamol after dinner (not good to take them on an empty stomach). I hope you slept through the night and felt better this morning. Perhaps it will be easier for you on Thursday. It took about 6 fasts for me to get over the headaches. Now I find the fast days fairly easy. I make sure I do my walk in the morning after breakfast. It’s always the same: a poached egg, a slice of Helga’s wholemeal multigrain, toasted (with a smidge of butter spread) and a cup of instant coffee (Moccona Indulgence) with skim milk and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar. For dinner on fast days I have a palm-sized piece of chicken breast or salmon, fried in a little canola oil and a salad of tomatoes, cucumber, lettuce, radishes, baby spinach, with a splash of balsamic dressing (not a large serve of salad). I also share a quarter of a Pink Lady apple with my husband afterwards. I don’t know if I exceed the 500 calorie limit or not (I hate counting calories), but after years of dieting and W/W clubs, I can guess them roughly. I’m also pretty strict with myself on the other 5 days (Cruskits instead of bread, seldom eat potatoes), although I often have 2 mini Cadbury Bubbly bars of an evening. I recommend you buy Michael Mosley’s book. I find it motivating (I’ve read it twice on early fast days). The health benefits he describes are pretty compelling to make you want to continue with this WOE (way of eating) for the rest of your life, even after you reach your goal weight.

HI everyone

Have to say that as you progress with this woe that it does seem to get easier.
Yesterday hubby came home and said that a couple of friends would be dropping in that evening for a quick christmas catchup. Now yesterday (of course) was fasting day for me. On top of that I’ve been keeping the house pretty lean on nibbly types of food so had none on hand. My rule of thumb is you don’t offer someone a drink without offering some form of food as well. That meant there was nothing to it but to do some baking. Cooked up some savoury scrolls and some ginger bread biscuits (complete with icing decoration).

Managed to do that without doing more than eating a tiny scrap of ginger bread dough. 🙂 Then while our friends were over only indulged in a glass of sparkling. Mineral water that is. 🙂

So I baked – I served – and didn’t indulge. When I woke up this morning and weighed in the scales gave me a nice pat on the back for my self control.

Fasting days seem to be a lot easier to be good on than normal eating days.
The structure of them makes it “easy” to do, where the non structure of normal days leaves me free to be a little bit wicked.

I couldn’t face the day without breakfast. It gives me the energy to go for a walk afterwards. On non-fast days, I walk in the cooler afternoons. Being on a fast doesn’t really start to register for me until after midday, when I’d normally have lunch. If I can keep busy or entertained, I don’t notice my 12 hours of daytime fasting until around 6.00 pm, when I start to watch the clock a lot for 7.30 pm to arrive (dinner time). If I reach an annoying plateau soon, I might try a 24 hour fast (breakfast to breakfast).

That sounds pretty drastic Gomarg!

Thanks for your tips about coping better on fast days. i did get a good sleep with only a couple of toilet trips to interrupt. Had a much better day yesterday, felt quite good actually. Tired today though but I think its more from the heat than the WOE. 40 here in north western Victoria today and 43 forecast for next couple of days. I don’t like it that hot 🙁

Anyway, I usually don’t feel like eating when its hot so my fast day tomorrow should be a breeze, I’ll be sure to drink plenty though!!

I went well yesterday, kept within my 1660 calorie range even with a 40g bar of dark chocolate, yay! I’m hoping to drop around 13kg overall. I’m 165cm so aiming for 63-65kg, I’m currently 76kg. We’re making Tuesdays our weigh-in days so I’ll be very interested to see if I’ve made any inroads on my first weeks effort.

We’ve just finished a very yummy dinner of grilled chicken breast with Tossed salad & Middle-eastern couscous salad. Delicious! 🙂 Only 512 cals, still got 164 cals in the bank so I think some dark chocolate with my evening cuppa should finish the day nicely. I’m really quite enjoying this WOE, mind you it is only day 3 🙂

After reading your comment about inhibiting the IGF-1 hormone. I’m going to try to fast breakfast tomorrow & just see how long I can last before having to eat something.

Some nice orange roughy fish with salad on the menu for tomorrow night.

Aussienow, I’m very impressed that you have put together menus, even if you don’t get to follow them. Well done!

Have a good night all and keep up the good work. This (not-so-little) munchkin has a kitchen to clean, ugh!

@rmg – my menus are so I know ahead what to get out of the freezer for dinners and to choose a variety.
My hubby gets our breakfasts, so he knows what I have (used to) and what days not to bother.

Another factor is that we eat the same meat, but less for me.
As gomarg says, a palm sized piece (from WW days, long gone!) and either heaps of cooked vegetables or salads.
I find it hard to wean off potatoes, but am getting there.

Bread is also another temptation, as we used to have sandwiches for lunch, but for eat days, I’ll have to look at something else.

I’m planning food for Christmas lunch today and am soooo pleased it falls on a Wednesday!

Hi, I’m loving this fasting diet.

I’m a woman in my mid-50s and BMI has hovered around 25-26 since I was in my early 40s, ie. just at the top of normal or occasionally tipping over into overweight. I haven’t bothered much with dieting (didn’t even own scales until two weeks ago), I eat very healthily (largely the Mediterranean diet) and have usually tried to increase exercise to lower my weight from time to time.

But typically for someone in later middle-age, some of my indicators were not great (occasional raised cholesterol and slightly raised bp) and I decided that I didn’t want to go on any medication and didn’t want to become a cliche (overwieght middle-aged woman) or a statistic.

I started the diet in mid-November – I think this is my fifth week. I started to lose weight quickly immediately. I lost 4.5kg in the first three weeks. Nothing the fourth week (exactly the same). Then 0.8kg this week. My clothes are falling off me – and the ones that were too tight to wear (that I bought 10+ years ago) now fit nicely.

On my non-fast days I eat whatever I like, but doing the fasts does influence my self-awareness so I don’t over-eat as often as I was previously.

On fast days, I keep to a food routine, just because I find it easier (plus I work fulltime and have teenage kids and dogs so life is hectic).

For breakfast at 8am I have either one scrambled egg or some porridge (with half teaspoon of brown sugar – it has to be edible!) or half a mango with low-fat yoghurt. I then eat nothing all day – I drink herbal teas, roasted dandelion, lots of water. At about 3pm I usually have a cup of tea with skim milk and half a teaspoon of sugar. For dinner at around 7.30pm, I have grilled fish and steamed vegetables. I have no time to think about recipes so my food preparation is very straightforward and so far no one else in my household has complained (they’re free to put butter on their veges!)

I’ve been surprised and very pleased to lose weight so quickly as I haven’t increased my exercise levels at all, in fact some weeks I’ve been doing less than usual.

I’ve found the fasting days quite easy to do but they would be much harder if I weren’t at work I think – I don’t know how it will go when I’m off work next week.

My aim is to get to the middle of my healthy weight range, which is about 7kg less than I am now (my BMI has gone down to 24 now).

I agree with Martin from Perth, when he said that the fast diet appeals to most of us because we only have to endure minor deprivation on 2 days of the week, whereas continuous low-calorie dieting becomes impossible to sustain long-term. However, I still find that, at my age, I have to reduce my food intake considerably and keep moving on the other 5 days as well. That’s okay, as it has become a way of life for me now. I still somehow managed to gain 0.1kg at my Tuesday weigh-in this week (must have been the quiche and lasagna last week!). I’ll try weighing myself again tomorrow to see if today’s fast has made any difference.

Hi rmg: Thanks for your reply. Yes I have been on this WOE for 9 months now, but
I didn’t have a lot to lose, I am 173 cms and currently weigh 69.7, so only just
into the 60’s. I started my weight loss journey 3 years ago or so, at 82 kgs and lost 12 by going to Countours and generally watching calories. However, as always happens, I slowly gained around 3 kgs which I have managed to take off with the 5:2 regime and have gone between 70.5 and 69.5 for the past 9 months. Ideally I would like to be around 65 kgs which for me is perfect as I have a large frame and wouldn’t want to go below that really. I am happy at the moment tho and all my clothes fit perfectly so that is the biggest bonus. Healthwise I feel great, I’m not on any medications and go walking 2 or 3 times
a week for exercise. I fast usually Mondays and Thursdays and then I eat more or less what I fancy which is why I am only maintaining and not losing. Maybe after Xmas and New Year I will seriously try to lose the other 5 or so kgs. I love this WOE tho and can see myself doing it for the rest of my life, as I find it pretty easy and don’t feel like I am on a diet. I have been on so many diets in my lifetime it’s not funny, but this is the best by far. Where about do you live in Oz? Hope you enjoyed your cup of tea and dark chocolate before bed last night. Don’t eat too much after your successful fast day tho!!

Gomarg I know what you mean about feeling better about how you are looking & loosing the commitment.
I have promised myself that this time I will make it into my healthy weight zone.
Coming to the end of another fast day. It’s been a tough one today, probably because I didn’t sleep that well last night, but I think that I stayed within my 500 calories. Hoping for a good weigh in tomorrow.
Bacon egg & sausage for brekkie tomorrow. 🙂

Vicki, that’s really impressive – and that’s what I like about this diet, that the emphasis isn’t so much on the weight loss as on the underlying physical health. My cholesterol was also 7.2 in the past but some weight loss brought it down, I’m assuming my current fasting weight loss has done the same.
You’re an inspiration! Congratulations, you will make it. Enjoy the new clothing.

Happy Birthday, Alimax! Thank you for starting the Southern Hemispherites’ thread. It’s very inspirational and motivational to hear the stories of so many other Aussies and Kiwis, who are practising the intermittent fasting lifestyle. I find that contributing posts is like writing a diary, only with feedback.

Hey all! Can another Aussie join the ranks here? I have just registered on this site. I am 68, female, sedentary, lifetime yo yo dieter, looking to succeed on this new way of eating. I have borrowed the book from my library and have been voraciously reading the thousands of posts/links/information/data on this and other IF websites. I started working with this at the end of November losing 2kg in the weeks since…slow, but that’s OK. What I like is that I am not constantly thinking about food every single day as I was with all other plans I have tried (which work whilst I am doing them but then I lose motivation and of course the weight finds me again:() Hoping for lifelong success with this one. I had too good a Christmas Eve and Day and now I am back to a Fast day today. I feel good that I am in control again.

I have had a quick scan through the posts in this thread…is there anyone else in their sixties? I have seen a few 50’s and 40’s. I have almost 20kgs of weight to lose to get to where I think I will be happy…I probably have no hope of getting to what they say I should be…(add another 10kg to that 20!!!) What would I do with all that loose skin then??? I am only 155cm tall and shrinking. I DID lose those 20kgs a while back but they found me again over the past four years:(
I am finding it better to not eat anything until dinner time on a fast day (except for the calories contained within the little bit of skim milk I have in my morning and midday coffee) so my reduced calorie fast lasts from after dinner on Sunday nights until breakfast on Tuesdays (and sometimes I haven’t wanted that breakfast). Same on the next fast day. What is everyone else doing?

@ nanjovik, I did enjoy my guilt free week, and today, which would normally have been my fast day, I’ve been aware of what I’m eating.
Besides it’s too hot and sticky for food and water is plentiful.

@ Jaybee and Shoshanna… loose skin/wrinkles come with the bundle!
I’m 71 and am resigned to them now, but oddly no-one has said “gee, look at your wrinkles” they say “my, you are looking so good now!”

I’ll just wear longer sleeves and pants when I go out..lol!
Roll on Monday fast, I’m really looking forward to it.

Shoshanna, I hope you are feeling better now 🙂

Cheers to all the mature ladies! You all sound young and hip to me. I thought I was one of the older ones in this forum (59 in February). I decided to do my usual Thursday fast today, despite all the tempting left-overs in the fridge and in bench-top containers. I’ll get back to them tomorrow. Might leave the weekly weigh-in until Saturday. Too hot to even go for a walk today, and no energy left after yesterday’s festivities.

Wow Vicki, love that you almost made your target weight! Great work!

I’m new to this but have gone down by two notches on my belt after my first four weeks (followed by a major blip over Christmas). For those that have been doing this for a while, are there any tips/ tricks on how to stay focused around NYE? I’m determined not to let myself slide any further…

Hi Jaybee, I’m 63 and I by no means the oldest.
This works for everyone I think, a bit slower as we get a bit older but the weight still comes off.
Just back from the gym – NO gain over Christmas, and I did eat and enjoy myself!.
Your 2kg loss since late November is great, if you maintain that the 20kg will be gone by the end of September, and losing at that rate probably means it will stay off as your body and appetite adjust. (It took me exactly 11 months to lose the 20kg, and I hope/plan to get rid of the final 5kg by April, it does get harder as you get smaller)

Whiterabbit, 2 belt notches sounds pretty good. Enjoy NY, but maybe stay away from the nibbles, they are the killers more than “normal” food, I think. Try to keep your fast days, juggle them about if you need to but don’t give up, even if you do have a bit of a binge. Just fast the next day!
Good luck

Do you have to check the “notify me of follow up replies via email” box every time you post in this thread? Or is just the once enough?

I hope we oldies are not scaring away the younger people on this forum, although I think that intermittent fasting is ideal for older people, as we’re supposed to be reaping the health benefits of fasting by suppressing the IGF-1 hormone. Anyway, Michael Mosley himself – our guru – is about 56 now.

I’m back in Hobart after a few days jolly family holiday time up on the sunny North West Coast of Tasmania. Hi to Sylvestra who is just visiting the southern hemisphere thread (I had a visit to your Scottish thread so fair do’s)and to GoMarg who is inspiring me, JayBee who is so enthusiastic, Vicki whose situation seems so much like mine, and all you others. I’m typing this with one eye cast down the Derwent estuary waiting for Brindabella to appear in the distance. My niece’s partner is crew aboard so it gives me a personal interest in this year’s Sydney to Hobart Yachting Classic. What I am trying to avoid thinking about is the Taste Of Tasmania food festival. It is such great fun but this year, for the first time in maybe ten years, I don’t think I need to be there.

Oh dear, yesterday the choc coated peanuts undid me!!!! On a fast day too!! I am so ashamed and am suffering nasty indigestion….serves me right!! I KNOW they affect me that way yet I still cannot leave them alone. Oh well, they are all gone now and I am trying doing a fast day today. Wish me luck at getting back on track.

So hot here yesterday, 40 degrees…I do not do heat well!! It was hubby’s birthday so we had people coming and going all day, I was exhausted at the end of it from heat and serving food! I think it is supposed to be a little cooler today….longing for 3 days of rain in a row!

Hi prc46, are you new to this forum too? I’ve only landed here recently (but plan to stick around and soak up the support:D)

Hi to all other downunders, hope your day is a good one.

Welcome to the newbies!
You are all so motivated and that keeps the rest of us going!
@ Gomarg– well done!

I’ve had a week off and am so glad to be fasting today.
I cannot believe how food orientated I/we have become and how friends (family knew not to) give food/sweets/chocolate/cake as ‘gifts’
Mind you, I have had cake, but in very small portions and find it’s all a bit too rich and sickly for me.

It’s been very hot in Brissie and we have either had salads and seafood/ham or nothing the past few days.
It’s cooler today, so the trend will probably stick!

Have a happy fast day if you are a Monday-ite!

Hello Monday Fasters! I slept in this morning and had breakfast at 8.15, so no eating today until dinner at 8.15 p.m. Like Aussienow, I am near Brisbane (in Logan) and the temperature reached 38 degrees yesterday. It is cooler today but still very humid when I went for my walk this morning. I’d be interested to know what other people are doing for exercise. I don’t think I could lose weight without walking for 40 minutes five times a week, even with intermittent fasting. I follow the Fast Diet page on Facebook and they recently announced the release of Michael Mosley’s latest book, “Fast Exercise”. It’s probably only out in the UK at the moment, so I’ll try to buy it on eBay, where I bought the other two books.

I haven’t done any extra exercise which is why I was surprised and delighted to lose weight easily on 5:2. I ride a bike to and from work but it’s not a long way and not strenuous and in the past when I’ve increased my cycling it’s not had much of an impact in my weight.
However, I have been on my feet a lot more recently having a puppy who I take to the park 3 times a day, not actually walking much with her, just standing around. I’ve also been doing lots of home chores – I find that losing the weight makes me feel more energetic and I do less sitting around. But as I said, exercise doesn’t seem to be a factor in my weight loss, which goes against what I’ve always believed.