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Hi all,
I’m in Perth WA too and have started the fast diet today again after too many slack months. Loving the idea of a forum because I know NO ONE else trying this. ..so it’ll be good to chat away with others of a like mind.
Just wanted to introduce myself before exploring the site some more.
Big goal – wedding dress fitting on 4th August. Motivation right there!!
Melsy
Greetings Fellow Southern Fasters,
Welcome to all the new folks.
After weighing in on Monday, I can report that I have lost 6.5kg since the start of the new year, and 26.5 kg since I began in November 2013. Still have slightly more than that to loose, but I am enjoying the journey, along with the wonderful support along the way.
Have a great week everyone.
Charlie.
Purple,
Our posts must have crossed, I was unsure how to respond, but I too was offended by the comments. We are all here to help each other, and if that includes your very generous advice on how to make healthy bread, not so much for me but for my skinny husband, then thank you, and it seems that others were interested too.
You and many of the long time posters are the reason I have survived this journey, as you are always there for support us when things slow down.
Keep giving your advice 🙂
Charlie
Your’re more than welcome Purple, the comments were very uncalled for. I very much respect you and your opinions as well as some of the other regulars here, and I felt very annoyed as you were only answering many questions about sourdough that were put forward to you. What annoyed me even more was the fact that I’d just said to my OH that I really enjoyed this forum, because unlike facebook, there’s no snarlyness here and then I click on and saw that. Oh well least we know we’ve got each other’s backs, haha!
Hi Everyone
Its sounds like you are all doing great on the 5:2. I started in October and have lost 8 kg but over the last 3 weeks the scales are depressing me. I keep losing one kilo one week then putting it back on the next. I am doing the same as I have always done but I seem stuck and its demotivating me. Any ideas whats going on and how I can get passed this lull?
Thanks
Hi everyone
Had a great FD yesterday, lost 1k. I walked for 30 minutes in my lunch break, 30 minutes after work and did 10 minutes of squats, weights. Shall try and do this every day now that the weather is not so hot here in sunny/rainy Gold Coast.
Hope you all had a great FD and enjoy the rest of the week.
Hi Star
Firstly, congratulations on your weight loss and choosing intermittent fasting as a way of life = WOL. You have done well.
Secondly, did you measure your arms, legs, waist, hips, bust and any other areas? If so, you may find that right now you are losing cms even when the weight remains steady. I had three main plateaus as I lost a total of 15 kg. The plateaus seemed to occur when my body was readjusting shape. In all I reduced 3 clothing sizes. Do you notice your clothes are looser? If you haven’t already made all those measurements, please do today.
Lastly, many of us have found that not all calories have an equal effect on your body. To kick start weight loss, you can experiment with omitting different types of food. For example, I had to stop eating all starchy foods, such as potatoes, rice, pasta, flour. And also I had to stop eating any food with sweeteners in it. Then my weight loss began again.
Good luck with it all. Remember this is for life. It’s not a race but a long slow regaining of health.
Cheers, Bay 🙂
Hi MissMelsy and welcome. I’m a newbie too and in Perth as well! All going swimmingly. Down 1.5kg in one week. I’m finding it surprisingly easy. At the moment on fast days (FD) am having a reasonable breakfast of fruit and yoghurt + half piece toast; a full-fat flat white mid-morning (non-negotiable!); some tuna at lunch; a salad (no meat) at dinner. Also having AFD (alcohol free day) on FD. Had some almonds last night cos I got hungry. Good luck.
Oh bugger Star the old sneaky calories in the wine trick got ya! I’m with Bay on the measuring I only measure my tummy, infact at the moment I’ve marked the spot with a marker because I keep measuring in different spots, some say measure your belly button, some say just above, some say halfway between your last rib and top of your hip, hell until recently I’d be lucky to find a rib, hehe! Your cm will go down, but the scales can stay the same and even go up a bit, so I don’t really focus on a weight anymore thank good, I feel so much better now. I still weigh myself, and am happy to see them heading in the right direction, but the cm are what I like to see reduced. I’m 172cm tall, so for height and tummy ratio I need to get to 80cm to be in the healthy range not too much longer now
Wine (and dark chocolate) win every time.
I’m happy to report that Topsy now resides in the back of the fridge and is taken out once a day (on working days) for a stir, and so I can check on her bubbles. Very gentle, but still active.
Lovely to hear the success stories of the newcomers. This is a journey for life, to health and sustainable weight loss.
Hi one and all, it’s so wonderful to see so many new fasters coming on board, as well as the vigorous chatter about your beloved sourdough starters….I completely get it, as I used to do a serious amount of sourdough baking, and the little containers in the fridge can be completely engrossing and strangely charming….all whilst looking like something from a strange science experiment.
I had to give it a complete rest, as I became addicted to the delicious sourdough bread…sadly I couln’t leave it alone, so now I do without. Maybe once I reach maintenance level I’ll try it again.
Sorry to have taken ages to get back into chatting, I’ve been worked off my feet during the last month or so and am now looking forward to a wonderful break in Hawaii.
Have any of you any good tips about eating healthily in the USA? Last time I was there the bread was too sweet, the cheese a strange bright yellow plastic colour, and all salads were heavily drenched in a white dressing…..I’ll be doing my best to keep fasting while away, and we are mostly self catering, so I’ll be selecting raw ingredients from the markets, to avoid eating anything too calorific.
Good work on the continued successes Charlie! And keep up the wonderful support for this group PVE and Bay, we all need and love your kind words of support and generous sharing of knowledge, wisdom and funny anecdotes. Even if we are just reading and don’t comment back, your words really matter!
Please don’t be put off by grumpy old curmuginly comments, believe me when I say that your concern, care and kindness make this world a much brighter and better place! That, and we totally need to be eating much more sourdough!
Cheers and hugs,
K xx
Morning ihaw
I’ll have to pick your brains after your trip. We are going to North America in May and also worry about the food issue. Self catering usually works for us when travelling, but much of this trip will not allow this. We find, when travelling, skipping one meal a day, avoiding as many white carbs as possible and choosing entres only helps. Another trick is to not stay sitting at the dinner table. Get up as soon as you have eaten so the temptation to have more is removed. Not going anywhere near the breakfasts reduces the chance of “waking the hunger dragon” as Nicky says 🙂 Knowing you, you’ll be up on the dance floor, won’t you? 😉
Have a fantastic time. Enjoy the experiences! With the knowledge you have gained from 5:2 you know you will be fine.
Cheers Purple
Hi Barata so when’s the big day going to be for Topsy you thinking of trying a loaf any time soon? I measured my waist this morning 1cm to go woohoo! I’m having a another fast day today, and I’m going to get my blood test back from the Dr. This is from my first blood test so I’ll be probably booking in for my second lot of test depending on how long you need to wait in between test to see the changes, if any. Happy travels K sounds like fun
IHAW
Have a wonderful time in Hawaii. We stayed in a condo on Maui last year and it was such a relaxing and beautiful holiday. We made most of our evening meals. We had lean meat or fish and salads and vegetables. Hawaii has the most beautiful fresh fruit and vegetables. I had no bread or wheat products at all.
If you look hard, you can find proper espresso coffee. 😉 I gained no weight at all. I fasted one of the days, and saved my calories for one main meal. Two meals a day on most days were quite sufficient.
If you have no access to a kitchen, then it’s best not to eat any of the processed wheat or sugar products. There are plenty of other foods to eat. Have a good trip. We loved it.
Cheers, Bay 🙂
Hi Purple
On our last trip to North America we shared one breakfast between the two of us. Just ask the waitress for two plates and two sets of cutlery. Their breakfasts of eggs, bacon, beans, tomato are so huge that two of us had trouble finishing them. We tipped for two.
I eat no wheat and sugar products while in North America, as their food is too sweet. Even for me. 🙄 in places like San Francisco or NY or Boston etc you can find food to your taste.
I would definitely stick with your two meals a day. On both Coasts you can find espresso coffee. Not so sure about rural America.
Have a wonderful time. Cheers, Bay 🙂
Hi all
Sugar free is becoming mainstream. When Coca Cola Amatil announces it’s losing profit because of concerns by consumers re sugar. 16 teaspoons sugar per bottle. Then we know we are mainstream. Two items in February Australian Women’s Weekly, one re sugar and its adverse effects on humans, the other re research that not all calories are created equal in their effect on the human body.
Woohoo! Not a nutter after all. 😉
Cheers, Bay 🙂
Hullo everyone. Thank you all for your wonderful advice and very helpful explanations. I am enjoying this WOL enormously. It is so flexible too. OH and I are going to the opera tomorrow night so we changed our fast to Wednesday this week. I was not prepared to give up dinner out and a night at the theatre just to be rigid about a fast day. This is the first time we have gone to the gym on a fast day, and I’m pleased to report that we did not collapse in a dead faint in our exercise class! Also, a group of us goes to a cafe after class and we did not even have to give this up because of the fast day: I had a long black and OH had black tea instead of cappucino and chocolate milk shake which is our usual order. So much flexibility makes me very happy and confident that I can make this all work.
I used to work in New York – food in USA is woeful compared with the fresh food we are used to in Australia and NZ. So take care.
Having our blood tests before starting fasting was also a good move not just to track our progress. The tests showed up a minor problem with OH which our GP is following up. So it’s all good. I’m very happy we are doing this together – it makes meal preparation easier and keeps temptation at bay.
Happy Wednesday everyone.
Hi all, another newbie here. Calling the OH ‘s bluff from 2013 after watching Michael Mosley’s doco. So without too much thinking decided that this was it!!! Starting this week. For me it’s just a couple of kilos as I have been doing the CSRIO wellbeing on and off for a few years now when I needed to loose 8 kilos. The last 2 never seem to happen lol. the OH has always been unwilling to give up his foibles(beer for one) in the name of good eating…He is very much an all or nothing person when it comes to putting things in his mouth. So here goes nothing I am along for the ride on our second fast day. Monday was easy for him as he was sick lol.See how he goes today as we have both decided to do the one meal in the evening regime.Funnily enough I thought I would fail miserably as lack of food at meal times has found me cranky in the past…..but it’s quite empowering. ( sorry if that sounds wanky but it is lol). Will now stop reading past posts and get on with the chores but it is an easy way to pass the hunger pains
Lizzy, Topsy might get her opportunity this weekend – back to having Fridays off after the holidays and summer disruptions, so have more time to give her the attention she deserves.
Transcent, I still remember my astonishment at reading the list of ingredients in cream in the US. Here there is no list – it’s just cream, no additives.
Welcome, Secret Poster. Don’t keep this secret! Well done on joining the revolution.
Hi secretposter, doesn’t sound wanky there is a sense of empowerment I think, cause for some reason many people are scared of being hungry, but once you realise it won’t actually hurt you it’s ok. It gets easier too.
I went to the Dr today and she weighed me, I’m down six kilos in four weeks, woo hoo. I’ve only got my first lot of blood test done, but the results were excellent, so I’ll go back in a few more months hopefully everything is still excellent after all the animal fat, butter yum double cream and avacado I’m now eating. I was telling the lady at the chemist, she asked what do you snack on? I said cashews and metwurst with cheese. She can’t get her head around it, I’ve been eating this way for four weeks and I’m only just getting my head around it. Fasting today, easy peasy now that I’m back in the swing of things, take care guys!
Yay Barata, I’m looking forward to hearing about it, I can’t wait to bake one, they’re apparanty full of acidophilus (not sure which ones) hopefully it helps my husband.
I’m glad to hear that people are starting to recognise how crappy sugar really is too Bay, I’m totally sold now that I’m no longer having it, and losing weight by eating fat, wow, oh and my meals are waaaay more yummier and satisfying now too. Never thought I’d be able to give up that white powder, hahaha, but I have!
Well done, Lizzy
This is the first day of Lent with no sugar, and it has turned into an impromptu fast day. Been working so hard painting picket fence, vacuuming whole house, scrubbing tile floors with mop. Since it was 29 C, I was a sweaty little mess. Taking advantage and keeping on fasting. With lots of water. 😉 Felt odd so popped a wee pinch of salt on my tongue. Did the trick.
I have a full fat food intake, eating avocado, olive oil, olives, cheese, and butter and cream occasionally. I like my food as unadulterated and unprocessed as possible.
Cheers, Bay 🙂
I just wanted to add my support to PVE and the others who have been discussion sourdough starters. Although I haven’t been part of the conservation, I have been a very interested reader as my mother is currently keen to get a GF sourdough starter going and has had a number of false starts. Thanks for all the info
I’m so pleased to hear about so many SHs who have enough enthusiasm about their health outcomes to go that extra yard and include proper homemade sourdough in their repertoire of accomplishments. Go forth and multiply your starters. Share the joy of achieving another skill that contributes to all.
Good luck Tospsy, Bilbo and all your decentents!
Happy days. P 🙂
Ps Bay…we might have to stick to supermarkets. 20%!
Morning all, welcome new losers and thank you so much for saying my post was an inspiration MissMelsey – by August, you will be having your wedding dress taken in.
Star76, don’t worry about the plateau. Many of us experience this along the way. Follow the sound advice given above and hang in there. Since my frustrating ‘plateau’ lasting 3-4 weeks, the weight has been falling off me. I’ve lost almost 16 kgs and people are starting to tell me that I ‘shouldn’t lose too much more weight’. One person called me skinny this week. I haven’t been called skinny since I was 7 years old.
Thoroughly enjoying my flat white this morning – had a very miserable, hungry night last night. I’d made the mistake of freezing some opened Slendier noodles for a second meal – absolutely awful. It was like eating a bowl of elastic bands and I had to discard. I didn’t bother making a substitute as I wasn’t sure how many cals I’d already eaten at that point. So, a word of advice: Slendier noodles can’t be frozen (it probably says so on the packet). Still, all good in the end as I’m down another 800gms this morning.
I must just come to the defence of American produce. I lived there for many years. Fruit & veg on the grocery shelves are fresh and taste just like they are supposed to. Americans know how to transport & store it properly. No self-respecting grocer would put near-rotting produce on their shelves and have the cheek to put it on ‘special’. Tomatoes taste like tomatoes. Beware the ‘all you can eat’ style restaurants. In Hawaii in particular, there are a lot of happy hours with substantial food offerings. But there are a lot of salad bar options in America. And if you’re self-catering, you’ll be amazed at the range of options in the grocery stores. Food in Hawaii though is very expensive, about like Perth, as everything that isn’t grown there has to be flown in.
Thanks for the encouragement Baroness, Barata and bay!
2nd fast day of Wk14, and have done a big clean out of clothes this week. Not just current clothes, but also those that I kept For-When-I-Got-Smaller. Went through those and chucked out anything I didn’t like, and shifted a couple back to the wardrobe, especially trousers/slacks/ long pants. What do they call them these days? Anyway, amazing what losing 6 kgs has done for my face, my waist, my trousers/skirt/shorts size and my thighs! Loving it! Loveing also, that this WOL seems so easy.
Yesterday I bought a couple of long tops that would never have fitted over my bottom before. Just that 1 change in size has me looking at clothes in shops differently. I used to be able to walk into a shop and know straight away what would work for me and what wouldn’t. Then with weight came a big difference in what would suit me, and I was dressing to play down the excess weight. Yesterday I was able to walk into a store and look around and again know what would suit me and what wouldn’t. It was like getting a piece of me back!! And, I didn’t have to take into account if it would still fit me if I put on weight again, because it is gunna all come off now I know how to do it. Easy peasy! Being mostly sedentry for health reasons, and unable to excercise, I am overjoyed to find something that improves my size, appearance, and health all at the same time. It’s like finding the holy grail. Rather Monty Pythonish to think we’ve all been out there looking for what will work and what works is really comparatively simple.
Merry
Hi Lizzy, Re organic grains, wheat overseas etc. and people finding their reactions to them different.
The only place I’ve ever found bread I didn’t react to was in rural, northern, central Spain. In Spain, is even more of a staple than here I think. It comes with every meal always. I spent some time in the mentioned area of Spain, tried the bread because the way they eat there is so different food and time wise, and I was adjusting to very little fruit and vegies etc. thought I would just cope with the symptoms till I left and sort out the problems after. Anyway………white bread there did not cause reactions – bliss! Got to the cities and yep, back came the symptoms, but I was better at choosing by then so wasn’t too much of a problem to not eat bread. Spoke to an Aussie chef who had worked in Poland, and he said that it was not uncommon for people with wheat intolerance to be able to eat bread in some places in Europe, because of the differences in additives/ no additives etc. There’s those wretched Let’s-improve- the- food/shelf life/taste additives again.
But, I haven’t been able to work out how to replicate my blissful northern- rural-spain-bread experience here. 2 things: I react to just about everything that looks like a grain, including some GF things. The dietician who helped me sort the whole sorry mess out said I was the only person he’d ever found or heard of who reacted to rice. Organic grains, spelt, amaranth, millet, triticale, buckwheat have all joined the no-go list, and chia seeds are currently joining them. Quinao seems OK, but I’m just not fussed. I dream of going back to northern rural Spain! A bowl of Galician stew with chewy bread is heavenly.
Thanks for your interest and help Lizzy
Merry
Hello everyone I started the diet on Monday along with my husband and we are on our second fast day today (Tuesdays and Thursdays) I think he is finding it a lot easier than me as I am constantly thinking of food and counting calories (which I haven’t done for years) if anyone has a link to some great low calorie lunch recipes that would be a great help. 🙂
Hi ihaveawaist, re American food: a trip to the supermarket/ markets and do your own is probably the best and easiest way. US supermarkets seem to have salad bars, sushi bars, and various other types of food available as well as all the over processed oversweet stuff. In restaurants, entrees are a good choice, or share a main, lettuce can be a single ingredient starter sometimes, and hold the dressing, or dressing on the side. Maybe stay as close to whole fodds, unprocessed foods in general. I do like to try whatever is the local specialty once or a very small portion, just because of cultural interest. Did give poutine a miss in Canada though.
Have a good trip!
Merry
Really awesome to hear your fantastic results Thin, and also your positive attitude Merry. Hang in there DSD, you’ll soon work out how to just get on with your day. You might want to try going until tea if you can, and soon you would of learnt how to not focus on food until late in the day. I realised when I first started that I was putting too much energy into it and I just had to plan my day so that I was busy, now days I can easily go out and walk around cafes at lunch time with all the smells and not be tempted to have anything, cause I just remind myself it’ll be tea time soon, or I can have it the next day. Also you might want to download Michael Mosleys 5:2 diet book if you haven’t already. Hang in there it will become second nature before you know it
Hello,
I am in my third week and it is my fast day – so what am I doing looking at recipes, what the! I have had my lunch already as I could not wait any longer ( its 12 10 in NSW) but I have organised to cook Spanish prawns for dinner. I have only lost 2 kilos but I had a bad week last week as I was a way at a conference and needed to eat but back on track now.
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