Hi all, not too sure if I’m posting in the right place but have been on the 5:2 for the past week. Have found it easier than I thought it would be but it is still hard. It definitely gets you in a totally different mindset. If someone had told me I could go all morning with nothing to eat I’d have laughed at them. Have lost 1.5lb. Now looking at tasty meals to do on fast days and watching what I eat on non fast days.

Have found this forum really helpful and it’s great to see how other people are coping.

Thanks, Rosemount.

Hi Rosiemount. Welcome to this wol and congratulations on a good start! You will get plenty of support here, normally. Just seems to have gone quiet this week.
Well done on the lowered bp Merry. I was able to reduce my meds significantly. Even tried none for a month, but need just a little still. That’s ok. Better to have a bit of medication rather than a stroke. I decided not to be bloody-minded on this one 😉
Hope all SHs are cruising well. Cheers Purple

Hi Aussiechick and other newbies .. I’m also in Melbourne but unfortunately can’t get my husband into this as he’s a home dialysis patient and has been advised not to.. I’m getting used to doing activities on my own but he’s very supportive which is great (and honest without me feeling it’s a criticism!) Been doing this since September last year and have lost 11kgs and many centimetres (I’ve gone from a size 16 to a size 12 which I still find hard to believe.. I have averaged about 600gms loss per week.. Slow process ..I’m preparing myself to do Febfast which my daughter and I do every year and I also consequently go off all my social media (still will get my emails from this very supportive group!) I am convinced now this WOE is the way for me and for many others .. I seem to be plateauing at the moment so think I’ll stay off the scales and maybe return to them in a few weeks.. Keep at your new venture!

Fantastic! see more visited : http://www.lossweightlossing.com

Thanks for you posts Hootinannie and Bayleafoz – great advice! What a fantastic result Hootinannie – I too would love to go from a Size 16 to a Size 12. I don’t know whether I am taking in 250 ml every hour – so good point! However, the headaches seem to disappear as soon as we start eating again.

Love this forum 🙂

Welcome Ali

We all have different reactions, and the first few fasts are the worst. Once you are used to fasting, it is easier. It’s great that your GP recommended the 5:2. You will discover that people talk about all ways to live while fasting. It is best to read Michael Mosley’s book and do the basic 5:2 until you feel very comfortable as a faster. Just remember to have 250 ml of water every hour. I have to measure my water, or I accidentally cheat. 🙄 All the best with this way of life, WOL.

Cheers, Bay 🙂

Hi Annie

I found that by cutting right down on processed carbs and sugar, that I lost weight and cms quickly, as well as getting the benefits from fasting. I have reduced from size 16 to size 11 and am very happy with this. 😆

Cheers, Bay

PS. Newbies, please take the time to measure your waist, hips, bust, upper arms, thighs, because there will be weeks when your weight doesn’t change, but you will shrink. It is most rewarding to watch yourself develop a waist. 😉

Ali, Drinking water helps to compensate for the water we don’t get in our food. It also helps to keep the hunger at bay. We don’t need to overdo it. Just make sure we drink 2 litres a day. Bay.

Hi there you lot, you might remember me as Tarkeeth but mother Nature back handed me and after 4 hospital stays in 3 months the last one over 2 months. With no internet I was missing dreadfully our chats and advise and wondered if anyone had thrown a HissiyFit and left but I was so happy to see posts BY PVE, Happynow, IHW, Charlie G, Bayleafoz, Simcoeluv and other old hands, not meaning long in the tooth!
When time was dragging I, and this is serious stuff from me, often thought of you all and even that wasn’t enough to depress me.
So last week I made my escape just to catch up with all the news on the forums.
Found I couldn’t log on and JJ at head office Tech helped me but still no go hence new handle.

Any how its great to be back and feel part of our family again.

Cheers,
Tim.

Hi Tim!! So great to hear you’re back with us, even with the new groovy name you’ll always be one of our crazy group of fasters.

Also nice t hear from Charlie, bay and PVE. Glad to hear everyone survived the holidays and are back into some more focused fasting days…it’s so hard with all those chocolates and treats around during Christmas and New Years.

Hello to all of the new people, just remember that the first month or so is the hardest, but the rewards in great health and weight loss are definitely worth it!

This morning I weighed in and have shrunken to 26.4kg less than I was when I started 21 months ago! Yay! Getting much closer to my latest goal of 60kgs. This was a weight that I never thought was possible when I started, back in April 2013. Back then I was hoping to get to 75kg! Ha! Boy, was I underestimating the power and strength of this amazing way of life! This intermittent fasting caper really works….no bull, just great sustainable results!

So cheers everyone, keep up the wonderful work!

Hello and welcome other Purple ;(
Were you born in ’51 and 63 years old? AND live in NSW? Hmmm…sounding familiar!
Purple Vegie Eater/ Purple/ PVE /P

Thanks Jilly
Interesting points. There is a wealth of knowledge out there . 🙂 Purple

Just up the road! P

Well done Bay! Have fun in Melbourne. 🙂 Purple

Tim! You’ve come back. We’ve missed you!

I’ve had a successful fast today,and it is about time I managed to get myself back on track. I’ve found the school holidays difficult as I am home even more than usual, ie more temptations! In a couple of weeks I am starting some part time study so I have high hopes for my fasting on school days.

Do you know what I did today to keep myself busy? I cooked! I find it hilarious and ironic that I frequently cook to keep myself busy. I made some mango and nectarine ice cream. Looking forward to trying it tomorrow. I did a huge batch of spaghetti bolognese sauce and froze it in portions. And I made a blackberry, oats and yoghurt cake. It’s actually a muffin recipe but I prefer not to stuff around with fiddly patty pans. Another thing I’m looking forward to tomorrow!
HB

Logging in…..
Week10 and went down 0.4kg by weigh in this week. Week 9 I went up 0.5.. So, out of the 10 weekly weigh ins on 2 of them I’ve gone up a bit.Week 7 was up 0.3kgs. But….and it’s an important but…. During those weeks I was battling eating too much bread on non- fast days.

A bit of history: About 30 yrs ago, it appeared that I was reacting to some foods, with diarrhea, constipation, painful abdominal bloating, headaches, irritability, muddleheaddedness, and some other things and wheat seemed to make me irritable etc. I have ADHD, and about 65% of us have food intolerance and food allergies, and a few grain things I seemed to binge on. I spent quite some time with a hospital dietitian doing a full elimination diet. Result: I am intolerant to all grains except corn. All bring on a range of yukky symptoms, including what I had previously diagnosed as arthritis. If I eat wheat all my joints in my hands to shoulders, and sometimes knees and ankles, swell, and ache, and with my hands it’s hard to close a full fist. I am also intolerant to all foods with amines in them. Amines are a naturally occuring chemical in food. Salicilates is the other big baddy for food intolerant people, but I’m OK with that one. I also have reactions to various added chemicals eg nitrites, and sulpher based preservatives. When I did the challenge on that one I fell asleep within 1/2 an hour and slept for 20 hrs. The kicker in all this, is that for me, the grains all had an addictive componant to them, so whenever I did a challenge on a grain type, I reacted then had to wait 5 days for the symptoms to subside, but was fighting the addictive thing for those full 5 days, and eating 1 thing that had this addictive quality meant I craved all the ones I had this reactive symptom to for the full 5 days. No I’m not coeliac – had the full testing for that, and even stomach biopsy shows no coeliac response.

So…..2 things I’m thinking…..My food intolerances have lessened in intensity, over the years as my life stressors have decreased. I still have reactions to the same list of things, but less severe. But…. It seems bread and grains still have that addictive thing for me along with other symptoms, so I can’t include them on non-fast days.

2nd thing, I’m wondering if new people who have headaches, tiredness, irritability etc on fast day, may have similar food intolerances that they didn’t know about. For this type of intolerance the reaction is delayed by, say, 1 hr or 2 hrs, and then the withdrawal symptoms start. The delay in the symptom showing up, is what fools us into not connecting the food with the withdrawal symptom. It’s called a withdrawal symptom because if you eat the food again, the symptom often goes away, then starts again 2 hrs later e.g. Like a caffiene withdrawal and needing cup of coffee or coke etc.

Food for thought anyway.
Merry

Hey Jilly.. Thanks for the tips on the green smoothies … I’ll put that on my recipe memory bank… Merry, a relevant post for me atm as I’ve been wondering if I’m a little ‘gluten intolerant ‘ or something .. I’ve been trying to lay off the bread (yes, love my bread!) this past few weeks but don’t really know if it’s made a difference.. Post fast this morning decided I will have wheat toast with a poached egg.. So, I should get some kind if a reaction within a few hours? Just been wondering if it ‘bloats’ me.. I don’t want to become one of those phoney holy ‘oh I’m allergic to this and that’ it will drive me insane lol

Not sure if you have read earlier posts Hoot and Merry….
After years of eating gluten free products my OH tried my homemade organic sourdough wheat bread. He has no problem with it and as it is so satisfying we eat only small quantities. It keeps a week in the fridge. It is completely different to shop bought sourdoughs, which have yeast added and flours of doubtful origin. As it takes 24 hours to make, the gluten is broken down.
Worth the effort. Give it a go. Purple 🙂

Hi VM
Glad the sourdough worked out. I’ve made the last couple of loaves in a normal bread loaf tin…letting it rise for a full 12 hours overnight. I put a bowl of water on the oven to create steam and wrap it in a teatowl when I take it out. Makes better shaped slices for toasting.
Enjoy stopping for a red light in the big smoke!! 😉 P

Yes and yes Hoot!
I feel I’ve returned to my alternative lifestyle time in the late 70s 😉 P

No worries DragonFly. Hope it helps. Really loving the weight loss too!!
Merry

🙂 I remember those Schlemmertopf thingies.Always wanted one but couldn’t afford it.They were supposed to be really good.

Did a check yesterday on straight wheat/ gluten as in crackers, pastry, cake through the day. Yep, was reaching for the crackers for no reason but compulsion last night. Bread with yeast in it is always my worst, especially if it’s wholemeal. Rice is non- reactive for just about everybody, and it’s the grain I have the highest threshhold for, so it’s back to the occasional rice cracker for me, and making sure I take B vitamins.

Very very Simple info for people to follow up on if they want to.
Coeliac have problem in the stomach wall. Intolerance is in the intestine walls. Allergy is an immune system response.

Intolerance sometimes has a threshhold level that can go up and down over time. Eg 30 years ago I reacted badly to sulpher preservatives e.g a few sips of wine or a small piece of friut cake and I’d be asleep soon after. Now I can do both but not more than that quantity.

All this stuff can get pretty complicated so if you suspect coeliac, allergy or intolerance, best to start reading and gettting tested, seeing dietitian etc.

Purple, it’s interesting what this way of life does isn’t it. My intolerance threshold s have gone up a bit over the years, especially with less stress, Your OH’s response is encouraging. My OH is doing 5:2 as well, and has Familial Hypercholesterolemia, and a 30 yr heart history, and has had his own diet regime. Between us we’re working out what to eat when and how we differ in what we need. I can see that it will be easier for me to be on this and manage my intolerances more easily.

A vegan and a non- grain …. Interesting Christmases Purple, and I sympathise with your DIL. It’s quite a journey till you get used to this stuff. When the children were still at home I was working with 4 different dietary regimes on a somewhat low budget. Brings back the memories. My daughters both love cooking so at Christmas we let them loose in the kitchen. 1 is IBS and Uses Fodmaps and they’re used to all the challenges we have, and they grew up with 2 different ‘common’ food streams happening each day, so we also find ourselves eating all sorts of different foods. I find Middle Eastern and Indian food a big help, and quinoa is in and chia is out. Love the idea of kale shakes. IBS daughter bought a Nutribullet and says it’s brilliant at helping her, and interestingly also says limiting her food intake helps.

Cheers, lifting my glass of bubbly water!
Merry