Thanks for the warm welcome. Yes drinking loads of water, will start measuring today but clothes do feel a bit looser x
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Greetings to you all, good luck to those of you experiencing this heat and the fires that come from it.
Have been undertaking this change of life for a couple of weeks now and dropped 2 kilos. I don’t find the fasting days a challenge and enjoy the new thought process of only eating when I am hungry. I found normally when I ate breakfast at 6.30 or 7 I was famished by 10. This way I don’t eat until about 11 when I feel like it.
I have also recently invested in a Vitamix and have a green smoothie to start my day – normally around 200 calories and extremely satisfying. Having that with some grilled fish and salad for dinner, sees me through.
I am currently on leave from work and expect it to get easier once I get back into a routine.
Love reading the updates, they keep me motivated and disciplined.
Take care
Just out of interest are any of you having trouble sleeping. I am finding it very hard to get a night’s sleep since starting this new way of eating.
Also on non fast days are you eating TDEE as according to my height etc i should be eating 1486 calories.
The heat in Adelaide is crazy today so have definitely drunk my water allowance
Hi nicky08
Yes. Many of us find sleep difficult when we first start. One trick is to have most of your allowed calories at dinner time instead of spread through the day. A bit of food seems to soothe the hunger beast in bed. The biggest problem is the overactive mind you get from fasting. You get used to it. Utilise it to do cognitive things at night on fast days 🙂
I’d recommend working out your TDEE from the home page on this site, but using your goal weight, not your current weight and underestimate how active you are. I always put sedentary, when I’m not. You might as well learn to eat at the level you will achieve.
Hope this helps. PVE
Greetings all,
What a treat resetting my approach to IF. One week on and 2.3kg has been given away. It feels so good again.
IHAW, how do you deal with the humidity and the heat?
Yesterday I drunk more than four litres of water, and it still kept pouring out of me, and today I feel quite exhausted.
Anyway, onwards and downwards. 🙂
Have a great week everyone, we are enjoying our first rain for the new year, although it would be nicer if it was cooler.
Cheers, Charlie
Hi Charlie
Lovely to be back to proper eating and to know how to loose any excess, isn’t it?
I cope with Sydney’s humidity with a pool and 2 weather stations to let me know when to close and open the house up. No aircon for us, although we have 2 neighbours with aircons pumping hot air straight at our solar passive house 🙁
Have a good weekend. P
Hi Purple,
We don’t have any air con, or a pool, but like you I rely on our weather station for the daily ritual of opening and closing windows and drapes.
Planting trees for stock might be nice to give them shade, but over the years that and mum’s little house have redirected the cooling night breeze.
Oh well summer can’t last forever,
Charlie.
Hi Charlie, the humidity at this time of year can get quite oppressive, I just thank heavens I’m not in Darwin which really does get very sticky. To cope I have a lovely cool house we designed to catch all the breezes and has a nicely shaded garden, also I have cold showers if it all gets too much….especially combined with those pesky hot flushes! Grr! (why on earth we need to have such a ridiculous set of symptoms during menopause is beyond me!)
On a bit of a sad note, I had to visit the vet this morning as our poor old cat was on his last legs. Although he was a big scardy-cat who spent most of his time hiding under beds and in cupboards, I loved him anyway. A tumor the size of an orange got him in the end. Rest in peace Monet.
IHAW
I feel for you, cats have a wonderful way of working themselves into our lives, they have a habit of making you feel that they are giving you the privilege of being their slaves, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.
I am sure you have wonderful memories of Monet.
Sending you a big hug, and time for a little Vivaldi’s winter.
Charlie
Thanks for all of your well wishes everyone.
Sometimes our furry friends are there for us like no one else. It’s strikingly similar to this forum, we are all here for each other, no matter the distance, no matter where on the journey we are, without judgment or negativity…just a gentle acceptance for who we really are, no matter what!
Cheers for now.
Hi Maggie
You lucky thing I’ve just returned home to Canberra from Christmas/NY in Tassie and my brother turned up with two fresh crays which we barbecued with a Neil Perry marinade – delicious! Myfitnesspal is a wonderful free app that will add all your daily food intake by calories or kilojoules for you, and I’ve just checked and it lists crayfish! I tend to use it only on fast days to ensure I stick with 500 cal limit. good luck!
Good morning all! I had a lovely omlette for breakfast after my first fast day of the year yesterday. Yes I had 3 weeks of the WOL during the holiday period and I have no regrets. I believe I have gained a kilo or so but my new approach is that I will get to my goal weight easily with this WOL and stressing will not help me so I am feeling very positive about it all. Hope you are all well and enjoying the year so far. Keep it up!
🙂
Hi all,
I’m in Perth too and new to this forum.
My fast days are Monday and Thursday or Tuesday and Thursday depending on the week and social plans.
I just spent 3 days on a juice cleanse to kickstart it so feeling positive 🙂
I’m fasting today – I typically have 2 boiled eggs for breaky (no toast obviously) at approx. 7am and then a light dinner at 7pm, drinking water and herbal tea in between. Stuck in a rut on recipes though, either have tuna salad or a small portion of fish and greens, or the prawns and leeks recipe from the fast recipe book but getting bored (and so is hubby) so will look for some good suggestions in this forum!
Hi All,
One of you recently asked me what a crayfish was. It’s a Cray, a Lobster. Also for those who are getting bored with meal plans. Mimi Spencer has written a recipe book especially for the 5:2 diet. It’s available as an ordinary book or as an iBook. One can mix and match the rexipes as she gives the calorie for each foodstuff.
Happy dieting.
Maggie G
Hi:
One of the neat things about forums like this one are the diverse participants from around the world.
In Australia and area, a Cray is a ‘spiny lobster’. But in the U.S., it is commonly known as a crayfish, crawdad or mudbug, lives in fresh water, and is about 1/7 the size of a lobster. They taste great!
Sort of like the difference between stone, kilo and pound.
‘Calories in’ – I really like that PVE – it states the calories of a given food and then offers suggestions for how you might burn them off – 60 minutes of walking, 25 minutes of jogging etc. It makes you think twice about whether it’s worth it!
Welcome all newcomers – hi KimM, I’m also in Perth. For recipes, I started with the goodtoknow.co.uk website (meals under 200 calories, meals under 300 calories, etc) and I always plan my fasting days for one month ahead. I’ve been doing this for 5 months now and it requires less and less planning as you become more familiar.
I find that spending a good amount of time in the kitchen preparing ‘meals’ on fast days not only occupies my time but helps me produce healthy, nutritious foods – rather than opening packets and jars. It also helps to reinforce what a portion should look like. Sure, it sometimes seems a lot of work for a relatively small reward but you really appreciate and savour that healthy, tasty little morsel! Family members who are not fasting just get double portions or extra veg, rice, etc.
Since starting, I also found a lot of tasty recipes on the Slendier website – for those new to this, you might be interested in discovering Slendier noodles if you haven’t already. Available in many supermarkets but you have to look hard (mine doesn’t stock them so I have to travel).
I’d like new recipes for the hot summer months – other than Mimi’s recipe book – if anyone knows of any good websites. I am looking for ‘meals’ under 250 calories please.
Hi Simcoe
In Australia “crayfish” is a general term for edible crustacea. It includes lobsters, yabbies and marrons.
Prawns are what you call “shrimps”. We had to change the term for the American market when Hoges did travel ads years ago. 🙂
It’s like footpath, pavement and sidewalk or paddock, field and meadow or biscuit, cookie and cracker etc. Marvellous language, English, isn’t it P
Hi Thinatlast
I didn’t realise you were in Perth. I have 3 WA grandkids.
I started off with Kate Harrison’s 5:2 books. She has some good basic homemade recipes in the Diet and Recipe books. She also has some really good tables.
I refer to Mimi’s book frequently for general combinations of flavours. I used her Thai flavours, in last night’s fast meal, on barramundi with Slendier fettuccini. Yummy. Takes only minutes to prepare, lo cal. The trick is to have the ingredients on hand. Kate lists basic pantry gear for this sort of diet.
Check her out. Available through Booktopia online. PVE
Hi PVE. I remember that you took a trip over this way last year – Albany, was it? I always check the ‘profiles’ of new posters to learn a bit about them. Not everyone has a profile completed but I think it’s great when users do share a little about themselves in the profile because it’s hard to keep track of who’s who and where everyone’s from. Not that it matters, I’m just nosey.
Thanks for mentioning Kate’s book. What do you know? I already have this as an ebook and completely forgot I had it because my version of iTunes no longer stores ebooks, they’re in iBooks now. Thanks for reminding me. I do have Mimi’s book too but haven’t yet got to the stage of saving all my cals for the evening meal and find her recipes often have too many cals.
I am up to around noon/1pm before having anything to eat though so I hope eventually to have just one nutritious 400 cal meal which will give us more scope. Perhaps summer’s a good time to work on this.
Yes thinat. South coast. We frequently commute through Perth.
It is actually easier to not eat anything and have a more substantial feed for an early dinner. Eating anything at all stimulate your appetite. Have a black tea or water and get occupied instead.
I use Mimi’s general ideas on flavours and modify to reduce the cals even further. Once you reach goal (are you there yet?) you can relax a bit and eat her recipes. I don’t know about you, but 350 cals is my 1/4 TDEE. That’s basically a bit of fish and some lightweight salad. Add some of the Thai flavours (lime, lemon grass, Viet mint, fish sauce, soy, ginger, chilli, garlic, onion, a few peanuts) and you have a meal fit for a king and incredibly satisfying. Cheers to all in WA 🙂 P
Thanks PVE. I agree that eating during the day awakens the dragon. It’s more for hubby that we have three ‘meals’ but, increasingly, we have gone without the morning oats. Now that he’s on 6:1, it’s easier for me to postpone eating on my other fast day.
No, I’m not at my goal. Still at an 8.8kg loss where I was on Christmas Eve. A rather lengthy plateau but then again, in the past, I would have gained 3kgs around this time of year. (I’ve lost 13 kgs since Jan 2014 with 8.8 kgs attributable to 5:2). As it’s hopefully for life, I’m not worrying that it’s been slow. Now that I’m finally in the “sixties” weight range, I’ll stay on 5:2 until I reach 60 kgs and then try 6:1.
To be honest I haven’t adjusted my TDEE to accommodate my weight loss. That’s something I should look at now. Thanks for kicking me into gear!
You’ve done well. The magic 60 is heading your way. I never made the 6:1. I am 57kg now (down from 85 in Feb 13), but it is easier to stick to two fasts. Do adjust your TDEE. It will give your body the kick start you are after. You are dead right, though. This is for life, if you want to keep healthy. It will happen. If you follow 5:2, eat healthy food and don’t get silly on other days, your body seems to naturally get to an equilibrium that is healthy and sustainable. You are on the right track. Go girl! P
It blew me away that you once said you and husband together have lost more than you weigh now. Did you try 6:1 and find you weren’t maintaining – or just never tried it?
Thanks for the encouragement. There’s definitely room for improvement on the ‘feast’ days! I’m gradually undoing decades of bad habits.
Just checked my TDEE on this site. There isn’t an activity level that accurately describes mine but I’ve read you should underestimate this as most people think they’re more active than they really are. Let’s say my 90 minutes’ walking every day equals “Lightly active : Light exercise/ sports 1 – 3 days/ week”, then you’re right, my new TDEE is only 445 calories. Cripes!
HI everyone
I have been on 5:2 for about 3 months. Lost 2 kilos and put 1 back on over Christmas, so it’s very slow.
Anyway, can anyone explain why I absolutely CRAVE nuts on my fasting days, but the next day I don’t even look at them???!!! I try not to have any because they are absolutely loaded with calories, but it’s weird.
Hi Katie
Do you have protein for breakfast or lunch on your fast day? Maybe you crave nuts to get some protein. When I first fasted, I had an egg for breakfast, some tuna and salad for lunch, and some lean chicken and vegetables for dinner. I made sure that all the food only added to 500 calories, but it was important for me to have some protein at regular intervals.
I ate lots of spinach, broccoli, green beans, Chinese greens etc. I did not have any potato, starchy foods, rice, pasta etc. no grains, no bread, no sweeteners, etc on a fast day.
Just a suggestion ad it may not apply to you.
Cheers, Bay
Hi Southern Friends,
Another great week of fasting with two really good fasts this week. I have discovered the delights of smoked salmon, which I have with either steamed green beans or cauliflower with tomato for dinner on my fast days.
OH is learning to live with leftovers on fast days, which is making fasting easier, as I do not have to cook for his large appetite.
This week I have given away another .7kg, so at long last I am back in a happy place.
Have brought weaned heifers up around house to quieten down before they go away on agistment and their older sisters come home to calve.
We are about to head into busy but fun time of year with the arrival of the new babies. 🙂
Enjoy your weekend everyone.
Cheers, Charlie.
I am also a nut addict, mostly almonds.
I eat natural yoghurt and/or cottage cheese and veg but then crave nuts later on.
I hadm’t really though about why they call to me (it’s them or cheese, and there could be worse snacks!).
However, I’m not worrying about it as it doesn’t affect my weight maintenance (or loss). I understand that while there are a lot of calories in nuts, these are not all available to you (as the calories from cake or carbs would be). Also if I get a craving for a food group (that isn’t refined carbs), I tend to trust that my body knows there’s something in it I need?
If it isn’t hindering weight loss it’s perhaps nothing to worry about?
Thanks Bay, I’ve done Atkins before and we’re pretty much a paleo household, so no trouble with the carbs. I have tried different things on fasting days, including a breakfast poached egg, but what works best for me is to hold off eating as long as possible. As soon as I eat, I want more. Today, I ate at 2pm and had a poached egg with some kale.
The nuts aren’t a big deal, I just found it curious! Look at them the next day and really not that interested!!
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