Well there were so many posts I had to sit here and take notes so that I could reply. Had the grandchildren visiting yesterday so I was just a little bit weary last night.

MOM yes anything in the low 70s would be a great result. I think we have to be guided by how we feel and look. Hope you had a lovely dinner with your Mum. That’s one of the things I miss most about my Mum. She was always the life of the party telling jokes, having her scotch and loving a glass of bubbles. It’s so hard to see her how she is now.

AC I think we are all guilty of giving up for various reasons, food restrictions, being unsociable, lack of consistent weight loss and no encouragement. I am now coming to the end of my first three months and feel even more determined to continue if for nothing else that I am curious to see how far I can go.

CM yes definitely the re-jig, have stuck to the 1200cals on non FD so will see how it goes over the next few weeks. Congrats on your new PB.

MK glad to hear your doing well. You didn’t say what your weigh in was? How amazing that it is turning into a family affair.

Turnabout, hope you are feeling better. You will breeze through the 70s and feel fabulous for your holidays.

Well must go and hang some more washing out. Have. Good day everyone xx

Haha Barata, I have ‘broken’ a couple of tea towels before now fetching in the washing not realising some of it is still frozen!!! So funny, it’s amazing how dried out the garden/ground gets through the winter, but understandable with so much frost. Sure helped me to understand ‘freeze dried coffee’!!!

Thanks for all the best wishes, feeling much better now apart from my leg/groin/hip/whatever, wearing a little thin now, but trying to do without the Nurofen plus!!

Intesha, keep strong for your Mum, it must be so hard, I still have mine, but only see her once every 2 years, soooo looking forward to being with them again this summer, for some reason, (not sure why) it seems more important to be with them this year, guess they are getting older??

Keep up the good work everyone, catch ya xx

Never mind CM, you deserved a bit of a break. I’m sure you’ll be back on track in time for your cruise. It’s also taking me all week to pay for my sins of last week which included a restaurant meal, always deadly for me, plus that homemade carrot cake three days in a row. Hardly surprising then that I’m up 300gms from last Wednesday. A good FD yesterday and even stayed up until 11pm playing board games at the neighbours’ who plied me with cups of herbal tea all evening.

How are you MK88? Has OH started the job yet? Are you back on track now? Let’s be hearing from you!

Hi All!
We are all so clever and committed. Did any of you do the horizon- what type of eater are you- constant craver, feaster or emotional eater? I wasn’t with forum then so I may have missed the conversation. I found it useful to know I am a constant craver which helped me fine tune my strategies- I know I have changed though because last night I was sitting with my two sisters who ate pizza for dinner even though we had quite a big lunch but I paid attention to my body and thought about P’s inspirational comments and I just chose to eat nothing!!
I am enjoying a gorgeous sunny 24deg day here in queensland so have a lovely rest of the day.

Hi CM. Just google Horizon which diet is right for me- and it will lead you to the quiz. Michael Mosley liked it because they suggested that constant cravers did well with intermittent fasting- which we all know but it is a bit of a laugh anyway! Enjoy shopping. At the moment my wardrobe is like a shop because i can wear things i havent worn in years. I even opened a bag that said ‘small’ and am able to wear about half theclothes in it! YAY

Hey all,

have been awol a couple of days – FD yesterday which went well. not a lot of a loss on last week but AF always stuffs that up anyway!

feeling good, more energy and still positive, even though its so cold id prefer to be curled up at home with my doona.

have a fab day M.O.M

Hi MoM. Good to hear such positive vibes! Stick with it, the weight will start to move.
AC – have found the quiz & also some videos on Horizon & Dr Ms “Which diet is best for you”. Haven’t watched them yet, but hope to tomorrow if I get time.
Intesha & MK 88 – Hope everything is ok with you guys.

Thanks to Purple’s motivational post last week, my OH started 5:2 yesterday. This was quite a surprise for me, as he didn’t reveal this little gem of information until we were in the middle of dinner! I think he was seeing if he could manage it first without telling me. Apparently the scales shot up over the weekend & he got a fright and thought he should do something about it. Told me this morning that he had been starving all day AND went to bed hungry….poor baby! Due to his secrecy, he didn’t know he should be drinking extra fluids on FDs. We shall see if he continues, although he was very happy this morning when he hopped on the scales.

Weight from the weekend is coming off again. Still .2 until I’m back at my lowest. Hope this will be a good week for everyone else too…..I’m feeling very determined this week,

Show training tonight with the hairy one, so I’ll be running around in the cold and dark again for 90 mins, with a bunch of other nut cases!
CM xx

Hi all, I did respond earlier but lost it, so frustrating. CM I am sure we are all/ have had our blowout days and they will always be there. I have two coming up this weekend, lunch with friends on Saturday and a 90th on Sunday and although I am getting to the stage where I get annoyed at anything that interferes with my weight loss I know that now it’s not the end of the world and I have finally found the tool to get me where I want to be.

Bay it’s great you are back as we all need to hear the success stories and beyond, especially for us newbies who need all the encouragement and motivation to continue this journey.

Well another FD over.

That’s great Intesha, fantastic news. Well done for sticking with it, I knew you would get the results. I bet you feel great about yourself this morning. We’re all celebrating with you!

Glad to hear from you bay. Where are you Transcend & MK88? Have a wonderful day AC, MOM, CM and everyone else.

Almond & Coconut Milk Review:

I found this exactly where you said MK88 in box form in the longlife milk section. I measured out 80mls which I calculate to equal 21.6 cals. Took a little sip and it reminded me of the smell and texture of soy milk, not unpleasant at all. I couldn’t get it to froth up using my coffee machine but I can deal with that. The colour in the coffee looks good, unlike the dishwater appearance you get with skimmed milk and its taste is quite pleasing. All in all, I give it 8 out of 10 for providing a low cal milk substitute that will allow me my coffee hit in the morning in a palatable way. I won’t have this on feast days so the next test will be how well it freezes; if it can be frozen in ice cube trays, I’m in business! Thanks for turning me on to this MK88 – I’m having a much happier start to my FD!

Hi all
Great to hear your maintenance story bay- I suspect 6:1 every week won’t work for me so sounds like a great strategy. Yay intesha- I was so happy when I saw the end of the 80’s and the nice thing is that it seems like ages ago- next goal is to lose 3.5 and see the 60’s again.
Nice when you inspire the OH CM. I was out with my husband this morning and was really chuffed when he said- wow I’ve got my sexy wife back after watching me cross the street- of course he was never critical when I put on weight but we both knew it was not healthy for me. So again I say yay to all of us!!
Thin I am such an addict that I just eat less and have a small amount of milk in my morning coffee!

Good for you AC. My OH is the same, never criticised me when I was so much larger but gives me lots of compliments now. I too was pleased to read Bay’s strategy for maintenance as I’ve been wondering whether my idea for 14:3 would be viable and it sounds like it could be.

How are you feeling today CM? You’re right, the only downside about FDs for me was forgoing my wake-up coffee. I hated the idea of blowing valuable cals on drinks (and Dr M says they don’t satiate us like solids) and can’t hack black coffee. So, now I have this little compromise, I’m very happy. It felt like a ‘normal day’ all morning. Topped off with two dolphins swimming alongside the riverbank for 20 mins of my walk today. 😆

P.S. Intesha, set a series of small goals and they will lead you wherever you want to be.

AC – I’m with you too, with the coffee. I’ll sacrifice whatever it takes to have my mid-morning flat white and that’s always the first entry into MFP. Although, I only have them at home so I can control the milk quantity. I tried going without (like Thin does), but I just couldn’t handle FDs without one….do ya think I’m an addict??!!

Intesha – Hope the weigh-in & measurements go well for you tomorrow at the gym. I still haven’t remeasured myself since 4 weeks in. I should try and get around to it. You’re going great guns, girl – bet you feel great.

Thin – Glad you’ve finally found your milk alternative, so you can get back into the glorious caffeine on FDs…..and you saw some dolphins as well!! A great day all around.

Obviously, your OHs know what lucky guys they are. It’s great that they are so supportive – and mine has been wonderful too. I guess we’re lucky girls as well.

PB for me today, let’s see how the rest of the week goes. Yipee!!!!! CM xx

A warm hello to everyone. Congrats on your journeys. Even when our weight goes up or stays the same, we are still on a journey of learning. I love reading your messages of support to each other 🙂 OHs are an interesting aspect of the food/health/weight loss journey aren’t they? Mine has now lost enough weight (4kg) so that it really shows and I told him he was looking ‘hot’ this morning. Although he has always looked hot really 🙂 I was able to buy him some new trousers yesterday that would not have fit him two months ago. I’ve taken to op shops for clothes for myself as I don’t want to waste money on new clothes that won’t fit for long. I’ve dropped 9kg now, which is only a little of what I want to lose, but my body shape is changing and a lot of my clothes look baggy. Op shops have some great bargains. Amusing, I did see some items for sale yesterday that I had previously donated 😉
Ten weeks of this WOE now, fast days are easier although still a challenge. Non fast days are easier too; I think much longer and harder and smarter about what to eat. Is that ‘treat’ really worth it? Someone else on this forum said only eat if you really love it. Makes sense to me because most of the things I once ate, or drank, as a ‘treat’, didn’t make me feel full or feel well. Now my treats are really treasured and much better quality, and fewer. And it’s nice to share those treats with OH who realises that we both need to eat healthier.
Basically, I find that one fast day helps me lose what I gained over the weekend, which is when we tend to do most of our socialising, and the other fast day is weight loss. I guess that is the logic behind 6:1 as a maintenance regime for those who no longer want to lose weight. But I am a long way from that 🙂
Sorry for the long post, lots of luck and good wishes to everyone. I can see the clouds just clearing so it’s time to head out for a walk. Wishing everyone a nice day 🙂

Hi DT – Welcome back, good to hear from you again. 9kg in 10 weeks sounds amazing. You’re doing so well and have it all under control. Great that OH is doing it with you too. Have you noticed any improvement in your pain levels that you mentioned some time ago?? Whereabouts are you located in Perth? Mmmm, Op Shops? Hadn’t really thought about using them, but I think I will go and take a look. Most of my pants are far too loose now and I still want to drop another 4kg.

Thin – I know what you mean about the word “diet”..…it’s so irritating when others presume that we are dieting. I’m not – it’s just a very pleasant side effect of our newly chosen WOL! I’m not sure about this visceral fat thing. How do we determine that we have it? Is it only by waist measurement? What indicators are you using that make you think you still have it?? I was looking at some Tanita body-analyser scales online, and they have a visceral fat indicator as well as all the other stuff.

I did a quick bit of research & its a very interesting subject. They say a CT scan or Bio-electrical Impedance will tell you definitely, but there are other ways to determine if you have it from home. I’ll post it separately. Thin – I’ll email it to you with the link, so you can read it all.

OH said he felt like cooking today and asked for “permission” to use my kitchen – he’s so well trained!! When I asked what masterpiece he was going to create he showed me a recipe for cabbage and meatball soup which was loaded with sour cream & bacon! I pointed out that it was pretty high in calories, so he said “then how about this one”? A cheese and bread soup…..OMG, see what I have to deal with!!!! He enjoys mucking around in the kitchen, but I’ll have to steer him towards cooking healthier stuff in future. He hasn’t been through the “mental transformation” that 5:2 has had on me. Before, I would have happily eaten either of those dishes, but now, it really turns my stomach. Funny how, in such a short period of time, I’ve changed….although I still lust after my favourite pork belly. CM xx

Thanks for all that info CM; I’ll report back as soon as I can find my ruler – howling about your OH’s recipes, he’s making up for lost time on his FD yesterday. And hey, thanks a lot for mentioning my visceral fat and pork belly in the same post. 😆

P.S. 6cm difference. I nearly had to send for an extra ruler. Here’s a strange piece of information from an unreliable source: To calculate your ideal weight, take the last two digits of your height measurement in cms and then convert that number to kgs. Add + or – 5kgs to determine your ideal weight. Disclaimer: I don’t think this is scientifically based.

This is all getting very technical. I’ve never hear of that formulation CM so I will be interested to know how it works.

FD and I went to the gym, first time on a FD and I live to tell about it. The only reason I went today was because I would be missing my Saturday workout, aren’t I a good girl!!! the workout is tracked on a computer via a tag I insert into every machine, at the end of the workout it tells me how many calories I have burned for that session. I average over 250 per session so burning those calories, fasting for 2 days and sticking to 1200cal for the other days should give me some great results over the coming weeks. All will be revealed tomorrow.

Had to laugh about the pork belly. I will also ask at the gym tomorrow while they are measuring me what the correct position is.

Hi Intesha – Glad you survived the gym – good for you. “All will be revealed tomorrow” ……very mysterious!!!
AC – Yes, at my highest “ideal weight” calculation of 70kg – I was certainly overweight. I think 60kg might be a tad low for me, but I’m going to go for it anyway. I can still see bits where I can lose some more flab, so it might just be about right.
Thin – See 6cm! I would call that substantial “movement”! So, that means that it’s normal fat not visceral fat, but it would be nice to get confirmation if you’re concerned. Personally, I think your worrying unnecessarily.
I rechecked mine with something narrower (to avoid ribs/hip bones) and I had 6.5cm of “movement”.

Good idea intesha about checking with gym- I have never heard of the naval thing before- always smallest part and I have been measured many times by gyms and weight loss centres over the years!! We are all funny but I think we need to be a little obsessive to change the habits of a lifetime- nice to be on the journey with all of you.

Intesha – You are already achieving & suceeding! You’ve stuck with this new WOL since 01 Feb – that’s 3 months! Just you wait until tomorrow’s weigh-in & measure and see how far you have come already. We believe in you, and know you will achieve everything you wish for. You know this works, cos we’re all here as proof. It’s getting easier now that you’ve re-jigged your meal plans and its working. Go for it, girl!! CM xx

Hi CM- yes I am very happy with my progress- I expect to go slowly sometimes but overall I keep losing- I have realised I really need to be no grains- getting all my carbs from heaps of vegetables/salad/a bit of fruit- loads of nutrients that way- and fast 2 days. I am finding FDs pretty easy now and usu doing Tuesday and Friday. So FD tomorrow! My sister started with me but has struggled with fasting 2 days. My psychological rule is that once I say it is a fast day- I never ever break that- that is the obsessive part that as intesha says gets us to first base then beyond. I am still struggling with some health issues so losing the remaining 8 kgs is imperative for me- so again thanks to everyone!!

Morning All. Shall take a look at the your link Thin, thanks. Happy to report a loss again this week, not huge, but I’ll take it anyway. Now 64.3, so down .3 and this is after a monstrous blow-out during the week, that I really don’t wish to think about!!! I’ll just mention free excellent wine & yummy canapes, and you can imagine the rest! Didn’t someone say how good she was going to be this week – wonder who that was?? Still very happy, my goal is to break through 64 next week. OH has also dropped an amazing 2.1 this week! Why is it always easier for them…grrrrr?? Must be fluid!

Have a wonderful Friday everyone. CM xx

Well done CM and Intesha, great results!

Yes well done intesha!! Very soon you’ll be enjoying that waistJust had a good fast day so hopeful for scales tomorrow.
Thanks thin for the site- my bmi is just over 26- so average for an Australian so I am really looking forward to getting into thr right zone sometime soon. And C M of course we all know it is those consistent small losses that have got you- and all of us- to where we are today.

Hi All
Charlie G can you say what weed killer- I know round up is now being banned overseas but Monsanto is trying to squash a report recently released by WHO. I ask because I live on a very little organic farm and this is an area of passion for my husband- he is the farmer. Wonderful that you friends have such a supportive network.
Well I am now on a pesky plateau but will tweak and get off it – not upset as we all discuss it is the new WOL- again good to hear from people who have doing this for over a year.
We have just had loads of pre-winter rain which is great for our farm and today is clear and gorgeous so about to don my exercise gear and go for an IT walk/run!! Have a lovely day