Hello Southern Hemispherites!!

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  • Fantastic. Well done thin!!! You’ve put a lot of effort in and deserve it. P 🙂

    Well done, Turnabout. Woohoo indeed. 🙄 great work. Bay 🙂

    Good morning SHers.
    I haven’t posted for a while but I haven’t forgotten you all – just been a bit busy. I am very pleased with my progress even though I have not experienced any really dramatic weekly losses like some people report. Over the three weeks I have been living this WOL, everything is going down in somewhat erratic steps, as in 800 grams, then only 100 grams, and now this week 1.3ks. So I’ve lost 2.2ks in three weeks. I was hoping to shed an average of 1k per week. However given how easy this WOL is compared with anything else I have tried I will accept willingly that I am not losing 1k a week. As long as it is going down!! What is amazing is that I have lost 6 cms off my waist in that time. Now that does surprise me! It also pleases me – he, he, he!

    Pleased you enjoyed the pork belly CM, you deserved it. Nice cool week around 30C forecast for us. OH is still on standby for air attack so the bushfire season isn’t over yet.

    Thanks PVE. Well done Turnabout. Great result! You too Transcend – slow and steady wins the race. As you say, the trend is down and that’s all we need for this WOL.

    Another good fast day for me yesterday, I’d woken up hungry and succumbed to a light breakfast around 10am, went to the beach and didn’t even think about food until dinner. Managed to keep it under 400 cals (CM, I could have had that coffee but I’m really enjoying it now!). Inched down to 66.9kgs this morning – this will go up again before it goes down but I’m excited nevertheless.

    The health benefits of fasting are harder to quantify but, anecdotally, I have seen a marked decline in number & severity of migraines (only had one since I started in August and it went away quickly vs. sometimes lasting days at a time and occurring every few weeks); feel happier and generally have a lighter mood; knee pain diminished; BP much improved. All of this can be attributed to weight loss itself as opposed to fasting but I like to believe there are insidious longterm benefits to fasting happening in my body.

    Have a great fasting day Monday 5:2 people.

    Hello everyone
    Havent been on website for awhile, have been trying to catch up on the last few days!

    Instead of replying to everyone I will just say, ALL of you are an inspiration, you really bring this 5.2 into perspective for me.

    Welcome to all the newbies as well!

    I have been up and down the last 2 weeks, but luckily I have not gone back to 83.5kg(weight I started) and am still sitting on 81kg. I do love my red wine on a Sunday but have to start having smaller glasses. LOL. Hopefully this week will get me under the 80kg, cross fingers.

    I have finally calculated my TDEE and it has me at approx 2183. Does this mean that this is how many calories I should have per day? I eat way less than this, although the wasted cals in my wine a few days a week would stop me losing quicker.

    FD for me today, chicken and salad for lunch and the same for dinner (I love chicken and salad)I don’t like salmon, tuna or alot of fish.

    Any tips would be appreciated.

    Have a great week everyone!!

    Hi, and congratulations to everyone on their progress downwards. Weekly weigh in day for me and am 73.7 kgs, that’s 1.2 down on last Monday. This just seems so easy! Very happy!
    Merry

    Doitiaradise, what works for me:
    Drink water 1st if hunger hits, then wait awhile
    Lots of water every day
    Keep off bread, grain foods every day
    Keep to an 8hr food window
    On fast days don’t eat till after 11am, keep most calories for and evening meal. Eat at 6-6.30 pm. Go to bed earlyish. Keep busy all day.
    Record fast day foods/cals every fast day

    Let us know how you’re going:-)
    Merry

    Thanks for that Merry!!

    Appreciate the advice. xx

    Hi DoitinParadise
    Your calculated TDEE seems very high. I’m 5’5″ and mine is about 1300 cals. So on fast days I have 350 cals and eat a maximum of 1300 on normal days.
    When doing the calculation it is a good idea to do it on the goal weight, not present weight and underestimate your activity level. I put in sedentary, so any loss through movement is just more gain.
    It seems pointless eating the amount for your current weight as that is not where you want to stay. By reducing your daily consumption you learn how to eat for the rest of your life. Your body will start drawing on its reserves (fat) if it runs out of calories.
    Learn to eat less often and smaller portions. Learn to choose foods that are filling and low cal. Lean protein and salads are brilliant. Pep them up with chilli, lime, garlic, lemongrass, Vietnamese mint etc.
    Get a copy of The Fast Diet recipe book to develop some new menus.
    Never “eat up to” your TDEE. It is a guide as the MAXIMUM you can get away with eating. The less you eat, the more you realise how little food you really need. Then go out and spend the money saved on food on lovely new, smaller clothes 😉
    All the best PVE

    What a sage Purple. I totally endorse what you said. 😉

    Eat as if you have reached your goal weight. Lots of lovely recipes out there.
    Minimise sugar and grains and processed foods.
    Have fun. Drink lots of water.
    Try to find what your trigger points are, and plan around them.
    Keep moving. I’ve just cleaned the floors of the entire house. 90 minutes of good exercise.

    Cheers, Bay 🙂

    Welcome any newbies

    Just thought of one really motivating thing. 🙄

    Please make sure to measure all the bits you care about. Often when the weight seems to stick, your body is rearranging itself. Measure hips, waist, chest, upper arms and legs.

    The best part of 2014 was learning to enjoy fasting, and then to lose weight and lose 18 cms from waist, AND to reduce by 3 clothes sizes. Then to go out and buy a new wardrobe of clothes. 😉 Great feeling.

    Cheers, all. Bay

    Hi Bay
    I’m filling my fast day landscape painting. The trick really is to be so engrossed in a task you simply forget to eat, isn’t it?
    The other trick is to put off the first bite of anything as long as possible. Drink (water or black tea or coffee) and keep busy. Suddenly you realise you didn’t need to eat at ‘breakfast’, ‘morning tea’ or ‘lunch’ or any arbitrary time.
    Keep up the excellent work SHs. P 🙂

    Great advice you two. From people who really know what they’re doing. It certainly makes sense to learn to eat in a way that maintains your low weight when you get to your goal.

    So true about keeping busy – even if you have fast meals planned, you can still forego them if you get otherwise occupied. Yesterday as I said, we went to the beach and I never thought about food at all. Was feeling quite superior looking at some of those people parading around in bikinis – don’t these people have facebook friends who can tell them they shouldn’t leave home dressed like that? They looked like the Russian seniors on a Thai beach. Then my neighbour came over, stayed for ages and I forgot all about food until dinner.

    Thinking of when I was a newbie though, I never would have contemplated this if I’d thought I had to calculate calories on the feast days. The whole attraction to sustainability of this WOE was that I’d strictly adhere to 500 cals on two days knowing that I could eat ‘what I wanted’ on the other five. The great thing about fasting is that over time your body learns that ‘what you want’ becomes smaller and healthier. From what I’ve read (Mayo Clinic, etc), rapid weight loss is not necessarily the best for your body – unless obesity is causing serious health problems.

    So in addition to what PVE & bay are saying, my advice to DoItInParadise (which my failing eyes initially read as, ‘Dolt In Paradise’) would be to think of this as a WOE for life, embrace the fast days, don’t worry how slowly the weight comes off, gradually become aware of the foods that counter your fast day efforts (for me it’s bread, for you it might be that extra glass of wine) and when you hit a plateau, make a bigger effort on the feast days.

    I loved what PVE said over the weekend – in order to derive health benefits from fasting, your body needs to experience the feast as well as the famine. I happily interpreted that to mean that big breakfast I ate on Saturday was as much a part of this as my Sunday fast 😆

    Wise words, Thin

    I definitely told Purple that I could never go without my breakfast. 😉 In fact when I was losing weight, I had a poached egg and spinach every morning. Just no bread with it.

    Cheers, Bay 🙂

    The “feast” part of it still has to be within your TDEE, Thin! I hope I didn’t motivate you to get carried away 😉

    Once you understand those foods that are best avoided, and develop a bank of recipes, you don’t ever need to count calories. But you DO need to understand their relationship to fat gain 🙂

    The ups and downs (feast and famine) are very necessary. But the total weekly calories must be considered. We ate out on Saturday night, so both of us ate lightly on Saturday and Sunday and we are at goal, not still trying to lose weight. When we were still losing weight we would not have even considered eating a 3 course meal. Undoes too much effort. Once you reach goal, is the appropriate time to overeat occasionally, moderated by light eating either side.
    Anything worth doing (and your health certainly is), is worth doing well.
    P 🙂

    You’re a top pupil, Bay!
    Follow her advice SHs. P

    Ha Ha PVE, no you didn’t cause me to overeat that breakfast – I’d already eaten it, immediately felt super guilty and went for another 2 hour walk. Then I read your comments about the feast being an integral part of all this. That became my justification. Te he. Good fast yesterday and today rewarded with a new PB.

    As you say, all that calorie counting on the fast days when you start this WOE teaches you so much about healthy foods and making them really count. That coupled with your body adjusting to smaller portions makes it all come together quite naturally.

    Poached egg and spinach is a great breakfast Bay. Filling, healthy, low cal.

    Oh, thank goodness Thin. I don’t know how I would have slept at night 😉 P

    Mmmmm – it’s very interesting reading your conversation about how you eat. I did calculate my TDEE at first, but I haven’t “used” it for anything yet. I have just concentrated on getting the 500 calories on fast days right. However I also know that fast days are supposed to be one quarter of your non-fast day calorie intake, and I don’t eat 2000 calories on a non-fast day. Anyway, at the moment while I am losing weight I’ll just stick to the basic of ensuring that I don’t go over 500 calories on a fast day. This also ensures that I have 2 alcohol free days per week. We usually have a glass of wine (or two) with dinner. If I stop losing weight, I will have a closer look at my TDEE and see what else I need to change.

    I would be interested to know how you all weigh in. I tossed up between counting and recording the weight I was the day after a fast day, and just weighing in officially on the same day as I started on the program. My weight after a fast day is wonderful and I’d love to consider that is my “real weight”. But some of the weight goes back on the next day so I have been just weighing every Monday morning as I felt that this was the more honest way of tracking my weight changes. What do others do? Am I being too much of a “goody-two-shoes” by weighing after a weekend of socialising?

    I weigh myself every morning and every night. Whichever is the lowest in the week is the ‘official ‘ recorded weight. Why would you do it any other way? It is only for you and the goal is to be motivated!!!
    Even 11 months into maintenance, I still do this as a guide to ensure I stay within my 3-4 kg ‘wriggle room’ 🙂

    Ha ha, Purple

    I weigh every day and observe the variations, depending on what has been eaten and drunk the day before I usually take the official weight on the Friday after my second fast day of the week. I want to be motivated by the lowest weight each week.

    Cheers, Bay 🙂

    Hi Transcend. That’s exactly how I started my journey on this WOE. Anything else and it started to look like any other old ‘diet’. Not that I’ve ever been on a ‘diet’ before – but I have starved myself into losing huge amounts of weight which of course all re-appeared along with some its extra friends within a year or so. It wasn’t sustainable. This is.

    Like PVE, I’ve always weighed daily to gauge my upcoming eating behaviour. I weigh morning and night. But I only record my weight every Thursday (that’s the day after my second fast day). In between, it fluctuates considerably and I often go up several 100 gms between the two fast days. I’ve learned to worry about it now and just have faith in the system. I think you’re doing everything right.

    Thanks PVE,Bay and TAL. If I had recorded the lowest weight I have been on this WOL, I would have lost 3.2ks, 1k more than what I have recorded on my tracker. But I recorded my official weight on the day I started which was a Monday, and I fasted on Day 1. I do weigh morning and evening every day to get an idea of what effect different foods make to my weight. But I only record on my tracker my Monday morning weight. I’m not sure what would motivate me most: seeing myself still lose weight after a weekend of wining and dining; or recording my lowest weight of the week. I’ll have to think about that.

    Does everyone here use the tracker on this website?? I have a spreadsheet also for OH and myself, because we are doing this in consultation with our GP to measure the health benefits as well as the weight loss. We will have another rounds of blood tests after 3 months.

    PS – there is something seriously wrong with the times recorded for our comments isn’t there?? I guess the times are England’s times.

    Transend the forum comes out of the UK and, yes, the time on it is their’s (UMT)

    Aussies, Catalyst, 8.00 ABC tonight is looking at low carb, high fat diets. Worth watching.

    Have a happy Tuesday. P

    Hi Transcend.. Yes, I use the tracker on the website but only weigh myself every few weeks or so.. I can become totally obsessive about ‘weighing in’ so try to keep off them..(and eating disorders run in my family so I guess I’m keeping it ‘sensitive’!) I can tell by my clothing (even underwear ) how I’m going now.. I guess everyone’s different once again.. Haven’t been on here for ages as I’ve been plagued with headaches for six weeks and feeling like shite (after 4 months in this woe, drinking 2 litres water plus extras during the day) .. Doc said its a ‘virus’ or could be my body realising this way of eating was ‘here to stay’ and therefore kicking up one last stink! Anyway, after new glasses and drinking even more water (i now have at least 800 mls of water on waking up in the morning, every morning.. I think it’s timing of when I drink with me) All good now.. I’ve cracked the 75kg mark (yay, second goal down… Thank you once again PVE and all the veterans) so I’ve now lost 13kg in six months.. Certainly looks good in writing and not bad in the flesh as well! Had a plateau for 4 weeks at 4 months and 76kg ..it was hard to keep going, but keeping the faith just ploughed through.. I’ve just finished Febfast so that probably helped too.. Had an interesting comment from a nurse at the medical practice ‘oh, I didn’t think you were overweight and I’ve never heard of 5:2’ me, ‘well, I was, am! I guess because I’m taller you may not notice so much’ hohum .. Welcome to all the newbies… Can’t say enough about the 5:2 .. sorry for this long preamble, had some catching up to do

    Fabulous progress Hootinannie, your perseverance has paid off.

    Hi Hoot, I know just what you mean about becoming obsessive. What I like about this WOL is that I only have to “obsess” about food twice a week – and that is just to ensure I stay at the 500 calories on fast days. And that is not really obsessing like I used to be on Weight Watchers, trying to count points every single day, etc. Also I have made it easy by just picking out meals from the recipe book, one breakfast and one dinner, that add up to 500 calories or thereabouts. The rest of the week I just eat good food mindfully – I haven’t even had to give up food I love.

    I haven’t even obsessed about weighing because I expect my weight to go up on non-fast days and I know it will right itself over the week. None of this “oh no, what have I done wrong, my weight has just gone up, now I’ve blown it, may as well go and buy a magnum to eat because nothing works anyway…..”

    Another thing I like about 5:2 is that it has been very good at showing me exactly what I need to do about portion control, which has been a problem for me in the past. Yes, it’s good to eat healthy food, but if you totally stuff yourself because it tastes so good you don’t want to stop eating, it does no good. Seeing how unhungry I am on 500 calories a day has really hit home to me about how much I don’t need to eat! If that makes sense to you.

    Anyway, all you folk in the best hemisphere, let’s continue to go onwards and downwards!!!!!

    Wise words Trans. Thanks. PvE

    Thanks Purple, Bay, Thin and Transcend

    I am obviously looking at it wrong. There is no way that I would eat that many cals per day even if i wasn’t on 5.2. Maybe I am not eating enough as well??

    I have been a small eater for the past couple of years, normal meal is lean meat and veges or salad, for lunch & dinner(potato once a fortnight, no Maccas or the like ever) it is the other stuff, cheese, biscuits, wine that kills me. 🙂

    If I eat bread it is only for non fast days at brekkie with an egg, twice a week. I have always worked in an office, so sedentary quite a bit. I walk at lunch time and the evening but since I hit 50 it is harder to lose as most of us know!

    I weigh myself every day as well,haha.

    Thanks for all the help and advice.

    XX

    Blimey, I was away two days, and look at all the chatter! Too many inspiring stories & great info to respond to individually…so well done everyone – you keep me going. Start of Week 4 for me & after a wobbly week (unexpected meals out & eating lightly to compensate) broke thru 68kg, yahoo! Down 3.1kg in total. All the comments about calories on non-fast days are fascinating, but as a “foodie” for me the appeal of 5:2 was the two-day fast & 5-day “normal” food. Sounded achievable and it was so much easier than anticipated. I didn’t think about reducing calories on non-fast days, but it happened automatically. I still don’t count cals on non-fast days – maybe later. I’m off starchy foods (rice, pasta, couscous, bread) at night – but whole grains/legumes seem ok for me, but still have my toast in morning…& my beloved flat white! One thing I have noticed in the last few days is that my sugar sensitivity is heightened – even a little bit tastes awful. Anyone else have this happen? Have a great week. CM

    Hi CM, you were missed! You’ve done so well already. You’ll be participating in the maintenance chat thread in no time. Interesting about the sugar sensitivity, your body is re-setting its requirements maybe?

    Yes Thin, I think it must be something like that. Maintenance still some time away though. Reviewing my goal down to 60kg. Everyone has motivated me & I feel a wimp stopping at 5kg. Thanks…I think! One other benefit of 5:2 is OH is down 2.5kg without even trying that hard. He’s been restricting his cals on my FD (cos I’m not feeding him or buying cheese!) & will start doing 5:2 properly next week. Says he’s more interested in all the positive health implications, but I just think he’s jealous of my loose jeans! Even got my hairdresser on board this morning – she’s starting tomorrow. Purple – Thanks for the heads up on Catalyst for tonight, its looks really interesting. So proud of everyone here….onward and downward! CM x

    Oh my goodness, that’s the last time I stay away for so long, sooo much reading to catch up on! I love reading everyone’s up beat attitudes when it comes to this WOL. There’s a very positive vibe coming off this forum!
    I’m really enjoying being sugar free, and every time I fall off the wagon, I feel blah again, so it’s interesting to note what a difference processed food is making on my body and particularly my moods. Reading everyone’s goals makes me realise I don’t even have a goal weight, so I’m really not sure where I’m headed weight wise, I think I might just enjoy the journey and see where the ride takes me. I definately don’t want to lose too much because I like having a bum, lol! If I lose to much I’ll end up with no cushion, ( it always seems to be the first lot of fat to go). I remember reading it apparantly has something to do with your adrenal glands not working optimally, so the hormones tend to hold on to tummy fat as it protects the vital organs.
    I’ve been thinking of you all day today Purple as I’m currently making my first sourdough loaf of bread it’s in the oven at the moment, very excited and nervous To see if it turns out, hahaha, fingers crossed it’s at least edible!

    Welcome back Lizzy. No chance my bum will vanish, but here’s hoping!

    Great CM, with OH now on board you’ll only have one meal plan to consider on fast days. At my Learning Centre class, there are now nine (out of 18) on 5:2. There’s now as much attention being given to 5:2 recipes as there is on the class subject!

    P.S. Lizzy, my backside has gone and my stomach is def. hanging on to protect those organs……

    Keep spreading the word gang!
    Lizzy, I hope the loaf went well. Mine today didn’t seem to rise as normal, I blamed the flour (no spelt in it), but it is fine, just small. As I went to type this I realised I only added 200gms not 300 to the dough! Doh! 🙂 P

    Sorry folks
    Despite them promoting it this morning, Catalyst seems to have pulled the diet topic. I wonder why? P

    Why thankyou Thin… We both need a big pat in the back! (All of us really) .. Transcend it is truly amazing how little food the body does need to survive .. When I look back on how and what I ate, I find it hard to believe! I’ve starred running again as my girls want me to go the Mothers Day Classic this year (haven’t done it for a few years now) .. I will be interested to see if I put on weight (I have in the past but lost cm’s)..

    I know in Adelaide it was on not that long ago Purple, I thought maybe they were doing an encore cause it was so popular. Oh well, there’s always YouTube if anyone wants to see it. My loaf turned out lovely, it’s pretty amazing how nice it is considering there’s only salt, flour and water in it. How cool to be able to enjoy guilt free bread. I’m fasting today so will have to wait until tomorrow to have some more.
    I also love running Hoot, it’s really empowering and gets your endorphins flowing doesn’t it. Good on you for having another healthy goal in your regime!
    Now if I could only find a way to lose the belly, not the bum, wow I’d make a fortune I think!

    Hello all.
    I live half way between Brisbane and the Sunshine Coast.Been trying to loose weight since Christmas and went over to this diet about a month ago. Haven’t lost much weight or measurements at all but strangely I can see my tummy disappearing and I feel so much better.
    Good luck all. 🙂

    Welcome Nelly. Great that you find you feel better. It would be discouraging not have lost any weight or measurements after a month but when you’re not particularly overweight, I understand it’s harder to shed. Have you read Dr Mosley’s book? Make sure you rigidly stick to 500 cals or less on your fast days (don’t forget to count the milk in coffee and any other drinks you enjoy), drink plenty of water and keep busy. Try not to go overboard on your feast days. You should see some measurable results soon. Let us know how you get on.

    Welcome Nelly. Congrats on starting 5:2, it will change your life. You live in my old stomping ground – I’m a Brissie girl, but spent lots of time around Noosa… God’s country! As I’m only in my 4th week, I’ll let some of the more experienced 5:2ers give you some advice. Everyone is here to help….and also read some of the older posts too. Lots of great info. Good luck & stick with it. CM

    Hoot & Lizzy – Well down all you runners out there. No chance I’ll start running. Makes me too hot, sweaty & exhausting, i.e. cranky, moody & irritable. I’ll stick with my yoga, it keeps me calm (most of the time).
    Purple – Had a hunt around & that Catalyst show can be found here (video & transcript) http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/4126228.htm Going to look at it tonight.
    Thin – One meal plan now OH is starting 5:2?? Give me a break, that’s all he got anyway! CM

    Hi everyone, I have been a bit slack on keeping utd with the posts, but some great advice and fantastic results out there to see!
    I am 6 kg down in 3 months, not dramatic, and I did have 3 weeks of total binge eating while on hols and the weight crept up a bit, so now I am working to get it under control.
    Currently aided by no alcohol or chocolate for lent- which is a key player the minute I take my eye off the ball. My boys have joined me in the no chocolate (or other sweets either in their case).
    I do, however find it REALLY hard to stick to 500 C on the fast days. 650 or 700 is more like it as I seems to really need a carb hit about 3-4 pm.
    Is this a problem if the weight is still coming off, albeit slowly?
    TIA, maltesers

    CM: no wonder OH lost so must weight, poor guy! I’ve just send my OH off to do some errands so he wouldn’t focus on food. It’ll be afternoon when he gets home and I have some yummy cauliflower soup ready. Thanks for the Catalyst link, I think I’ve seen that programme before but it’s worth seeing again.

    Hi again Maltesers, Glad you’re still around. That sounds like a big loss to me. As far as sticking to the 500 cals, my understanding is that it’s critical to keep at or below that if you want to enjoy the associated health benefits that go with fasting (regardless of the amount of exercise you do on those days). If you’re just interested in weight loss, then you’re essentially lowering your calorie intake over the course of a week so, no, it doesn’t matter – and you’ve shown that works for you.

    Thanks for the speedy reply Thin- I am off for a rpt cholesterol next week, so we’ll see! I think maybe I can try and be more strategic with the eating and up the protein on fast days, instead of giving in to bread in the afternoon!

    I find carbs are the killer for me! No carbs after lunch….and I love my bread. Will be getting my sourdough starter up and running soon, once I return from Bris for my (still independent) Mum’s 97th birthday. I’ve got a good reason to stay healthy if old age is hereditary!!

    That sounds like a good plan Maltesers – low GI and high protein foods keep the hunger at bay. Several people on here, with a lot more experience than I, say that salads are filling. I’d like to have salads on my fast day too but I’m too lazy to count the calories on so many items…..

    You’ll still enjoy the many health benefits that are associated with weight loss (lower cholesterol might be one of them, lower BP, etc) but I meant the more insidious benefits that fasting is said to provide – decreased risk of diabetes, heart disease, stroke, increased brain acuity & longevity. Can’t easily measure those.

    Same for me CM. I’ve stowed PVE’s sourdough recipe away for when I’m on maintenance.

    OK, that’s enough. Where is everybody????

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