Morning ladies,

Just a quick post before I work out and the girls arrive.

I had a very successful day yesterday and the scales are looking good for Tuesday weigh in.

Hope you all are having a great day

Audrey

Morning ladies,

I had a very busy but good day yesterday, managed to keep my calories low. Made biscuits with girls and sent the bulk of them home with them!

It’s looking good for tomorrow’s weigh in

Keep in touch together we are stronger how are you all doing?

Audrey

Juedrop

What are you eating on your non fast days? I usually stick to 1200 -1400 kcals because when I reach my target weight which is still 25 lbs away I will need to eat this to maintain!

I am only asking because I know there is a myth that some people think they can eat anything on non fast days.

Audrey

Hi all

My elder daughter came for a weekend from Uni. So that was fun. Her birthday falls this week and since she cant come this weekend, we decided to have a meal out on saturday. Chiquito – the mexican restaurant in Preston. It was great. 3 course with a great pudding as well. I was scared to get on the scales this morning, especally because I tend to treat myself on non fast days with biscuits or cakes. Any way weight seems to come down slowly.

Hi Audrey, I wish I could taste your biscuits. I am not good at baking. I can cook – mexican, italian, indian and I have tried greek dishes as well. But when it comes to baking, I am not very good. I am reading Joanne Fluke – Chocilate chip cookie murder – thge story is woven around Hannah who runs a cookie shop. And there are lots of recepies in the book. You might enjoy it. And I am more than happy to be your official taster.

Hi Cinque and Patty, hope you are doing well.

Welcome Juedrop, this is a very supportive group. As Cinque said, you need to see whether your shape is changing, because scales might not show any change, even when your body is changing.

Today is my fast day and I am hoping to limit to 500 cals.

Have a great day ladies.

Beena

Good morning all. Welcome to Rose and Dizzy. It’s Monday morning here in Pennsylvania, USA. It’s a fast day for me and I am so ready for it. We had a lovely weekend even though we weren’t able to travel to see our son’s family. Saturday was beautiful, sunny, and not too cold. I took my granddaughters to the park to play then to the library. On Sunday things took a turn for the worse. While playing with the little girls one of them accidentally poked me in the eye. Ow. I went into the kitchen to tell my daughter that it had happened and that it hurt pretty bad. She took one look at me and just about passed out. My eye was bleeding inside! We went to the emergency room at the hospital to have a look. Nothing too serious as there was no visible tear and my cornea was not involved. But it looks so horrid and still hurts. The entire white of my eye is now blood red. I don’t dare go anywhere today because it looks so horrid. I can go for a walk on the trail but won’t do much working out other than that.

On a happier note, I did eat very well this weekend, no junk food or eating between meals. My sister fixed a delicious vegetable soup yesterday for lunch. And today is a fast day. Like you, Cinque, I find it easier to eat right on non-fast days and am enjoying the fast days. I haven’t tried the liquid only fasts yet, like Audrey, but I’m considering it. MyTDEE is 1800.

Again, welcome to Rose and Dizzy. I hope you enjoy your experience. This group of ladies is the best! Glad you found us.

Cinque, so glad to hear you’ll be seeing your granddaughter soon! Will they stay long?

Have a great week everyone! Patty

Oh dear Patty! My sister had that red eye once. Make sure you get a photo so you can tease your granddaughter forever. I hope it heals quickly.

Beena, that meal out sounds wonderful! Best wishes for your fast today! I hope it is going well.

Audrey your kenwood chef would be so wonderful! How tricky to balance all those delicious goodies, with eating sensibly! Enjoy your weighing tomorrow.

Bedtime here. Good night. 🌙💫🌟🌌🛌

Hi Everyone,

Cassandra, your post strikes me as very strange. You have posted exactly the same message on a whole lot of threads (I counted nine) and your whole aim seems to be to sell that kindle book (or kindle unlimited). Please come back and let me know I am mistaken.

Hi Patty, my sisters eye got better with no repercussions, I hope yours does too.

I think with eating less, my bowel movements are less too.

Ooo I miss cheesecake. I love the ricotta cheesecake, like this: http://www.taste.com.au/recipes/29555/best+ever+baked+ricotta+cheesecake rather than the ones that use all cream cheese.

Cheers to all

Hi Patty,
sorry to hear your eye is worse. Fingers crossed it starts feeling better.

Caster sugar is finer than the usual granulated sugar, and it is great in cooking because it dissolves more easily. Google says it is not quite as fine as your ‘superfine granulated’ sugar. I have made it, when I ran out, by putting normal sugar in the blender and whizzing it until it is a bit finer. But I bet normal sugar would work fine, or the superfine granulated.

Icing sugar mixture is icing sugar (‘powdered sugar’ or ‘confectioners sugar’)with a bit of added cornflour (about 3%) to keep it dry and free flowing. I think I would leave that out, my usual recipe hasn’t got it. But confectioners sugar (or whatever you call it) would be fine.

Even though it looks like it has pastry on top, it is just the crust formed by the ricotta mixture as it bakes. Mmm it is so yummy.

There are lots of recipes for baked ricotta cheesecakes, with varying proportions of ricotta, eggs, sugar, and cream or cream cheese. Some incorporate sultanas, or candied citrus, or fruits on top. There are all different pastry shells, or you can make it without pastry, just buttering the dish and sprinkling it with semolina flour.
I haven’t tried that particular recipe, but it does look a good one.

Congratulations Audrey more than a kilo!
Hope granddaughter is ok.

Yes Beena! Enough of that talk! It is fast day here!

Best wishes to you, I hope you are having a good day.

Hi all

Audrey, that is quite nice of Ian. I have a treadmill because of my reynauds, but i get so bored, running in that enclosed space, so as soon as the temperature goes above 5 I get outside. But I can definitely understand Ian’s concern.

My second fasting day of the week. I only had 2 cups of tea and lots of water. I even went for a good 30 min run at noon. I am planning to take a trip to subways for a sandwich which is less than 400 cal for my tea..

Have a great day/night ladies

Beena

Yippee

The treadmill is here, I have been on and walked half a mile, that’s wonderful for me I am so pleased.

And I am now childless she is going to her nan’s house tomorrow. … thank goodness. …

Beena good luck with the fast day, hope it’s going well.

Patty hope your eye is better soon, what nice friends you have got to not mention it, and how great to be losing weight well done you must feel great. 15 lbs is a fantastic amount. You will be the next one of us buying a wardrobe full of new clothes. ..

Cinque, hope you have a lovely day, thank you for your support and friendship it means a lot, don’t think I have tokd you that before.

Well I am off now, we are having a quiet evening in without a clingy child. … bliss

Audrey

Good morning to all of you! Today’s a fast day for me and it’s so needed. I was down in the dumps about overeating on Tuesday but the scale and the tape measure cheered me up considerably. It feels so good to be successful. This is the lowest weight since the early 90s when I first began gaining weight.

My dolce la leche cheesecake was a huge success. And my zombie eye was a fun topic of discussion at our table. It didn’t seem to diminish anyone’s appetite either.

Cinque, what fun to have a meal out with your sisters. I have 3 sisters and we try to get together often. They are, without question, my favorite friends.

Audrey, how far have you walked on your treadmill so far? Lucky you.

Beena, I envy you being able to run. I’ve tried but my knees just can’t take it. Maybe once I lose a few more lbs it’ll be easier. Right now I’ll stick to walking.

So, it’s not only a fast day but a cleaning day as well. So I best get to it. A floor can’t mop itself. Have a great day! Patty

Good morning I am sitting having toast and coffee while my young visitor is playing Wizard 101 on the computer. Soon we are going to the movies. His name is Arlo, so of course we are going to see ‘Arlo the good dinosaur’. He is just here until this afternoon.
Yes I am in a social whirl.
You are right about the delight of sisters. The four of us have become closer and closer, after our rather awful childhood. It is one of the very most precious things that has happened.

Audrey I hope things settle down your end. How wonderful the treadmill is working so well! And, hopefully, as you build up time on it, your back will also be strengthened.
I’m glad it is a time for fasting and fitness after the wonderful chaos of the Christmas season.

Patty, what a great event you had. And isn’t it great with 5:2, that if you accept it for long term, then it follows that you fit it into your life full of ups and downs and munchy days, and social days and confusing days, along with the excellent fasts and changing behaviours, that will win out in the end!

It gives me such a nice feeling to know I’m on the winning side.

I wish I could run too, Beena! Years ago I would run every morning along the old Puffing Billy track through the rainforest. Yes it was every bit as gorgeous as it sounds.

Best wishes everyone. 🐉🐉🐉🐉

Hello everyone, I have been reading some of the posts which have been very useful so thank you. I am a complete newbie, only two weeks in, age 52, on the cusp of menopause, work 5 days a week in a demanding job which is mostly sedentary and power walk around 10k every Sat morning (my back is shot so it can’t take the impact of running). I, like so many of you, have lost 3-4lbs already in these first couple of weeks so feel encouraged but what I’m unclear about is what is considered ‘normal’ eating for the other five days? 1200 calories, 1500? Eating as a family is really important for us and I want to inflict my ‘diet’ on the rest of the family as little as possible as it the main thing I truly loathe about other types of dieting. With two fast growing teenagers it would be good to know how others manage their normal days particularly at the weekends? Looking forward to hearing from you.

Belle, have a look at what your TDEE is(under resources, then BMI calculator) that gives you a figure to aim for on non fast days(NFD). That figure includes any exercise that you take, so don’t add in any extra food for calories earned. I am a runner(very slow) when it is sunny and dry and it is suggested that there is only 100 calories burned for every mile, so although exercise is great for fitness, you will only shrink by consuming less calories. I have 4 sons 19-26 who live at home and I have been cooking for them and me for 3 years on a FD. I rarely have a FD over the weekend. It is easier for me to do 2 midweek days. You could do a stew with lots of vegetables and then rice/potatoes for the others, or simply save your total calories for an evening meal with the family(cutting out the carbs). I usually eat earlier and have different foods on a FD as I cook for them, I find that I eat fish/prawns etc(which I like but they don’t) then I am full when I cook them chilli(which I don’t like anyway. There are lots of recipes which you could do for a family meal to share, but that you would not have the carbs.

Hi, I am 59 and have completed week two, which I am finding quite enjoyable. The first week I lost 2ks, this week I lost 300grams. I walk most days and have purchased the Fast Exercise book, I will follow the suggestions and fingers crossed will lose the 25k`s I need to be healthy and in the correct weight range. I am heading off to New Zealand for a wedding this week and have to say feeling quite concerned about how I will go.I will do both fast days before I leave but its the non fast days that have me worried. Does anyone have suggestion on how they manage while on holidays, we are also going on a cruise in July and I am trying not to worry too much about that “yet”

I love Jamie, the recipes work, are not complicated and are not expensive.
I have been trawling through my cookery books, trying to find dishes that everyone likes, that are simple to prep and don’t take ages to cook. I now have an increasing range of dishes, which is a joy as I was very bored.

Hello ladies, thank you for you prompt responses, much appreciated. Still finding my way around so thank you for pointing me in the direction of the Resources page. Have now punched in my numbers and have a much clearer picture of what calorie intake I should be aiming for on normal days. I am very lucky in that my husband is the cook in the house and he’s a big fan of Jamie so we have many of his cook books. I think what I like so far about the 5:2 is it’s intelligent and honest. Will check in again and let you know how I’m getting on. I have half term coming up and we’re away with the family so this will be my first real test of how I maintain my fast days whilst on holiday as I find it really easy to do when I’m at work.

Ooh, hello Island Cheer! Your post must have come in as I was writing mine this morning! Luckily Audrey said hello, or I would have missed your post.

Re managing the NON fast days. Can you make some sensible rules for yourself? Perhaps: wait three hours after eating, before you eat again (if you go to a cafe, just have a drink).
Just one plateful for meals.
At the wedding feast: just be fussy. Eat only the very best things that you absolutely love.
Don’t eat after 8:30 pm?
Cut out those wicked drinks? 😉

I would need to work out how I can make the best choices for my health, while still making myself feel I am having a wonderful adventure. Luckily there is more to adventures than food, and when it comes to food I am enjoying becoming an enormous snob. Eat quality, and savour every mouthful!

That might not be your style, but keep thinking and planning and I am sure you will work out some good tricks.

Audrey, yay for another day of good exercise! It must feel great!

Belle you have hit the nail on the head! 5:2 is intelligent and honest. Such good qualities.

And Annette, what a pleasure it is to be a thorn in the side of the diet industry!

I’ve just finished a really nice fast day. Happiness!

Btw, welcome to the Year of the Monkey! That should have us all scampering around!

Good morning from cheshire, it’s a very wet and windy day here…

Fast day today for me, I have not been as good this week so I am badly in need of it!

I hope the rest of you are all doing ok, I find it easier on the fast days rather than the non fast ones. at one stage I wasn’t eating enough and I think that stopped me losing, now I am trying to eat up to my TDEE to see if this helps…

Keep in touch ladies

Audrey

Hi cinque

Yes the treadmill is definitely coming into its own. I got up to 4 km an hr yesterday and walked for about 30 mins…. I was very hot and out of breath so it must be doing some good.

My back is managing exceedingly well, it’s great to be able to exercise once again.

Enjoy your meal it sounds very healthy.

Audrey

Hi Cinque

I have in total walked for over an hour today in 3 sessions… I am really pleased with the treadmil and the back…

I am it has to be said very hungry… all this exercise is giving me an appetite hehe..

In bed now non fast day tomorrow we are having chicken cooked in the slow cooker in a tomato sauce with mushrooms onion and peppers love it. ..

Have a great day my fast friend.

Audrey

Hi all, I had a wonderful fast day today! I was busy, starting out at the gym just before 7 a.m. with my sister. We had a good workout together. We generally do a round of weight lifting exercises then a sprint on the rowing machine, another round of lifting then a sprint on the stationary bikes, then one last round and a sprint on the treadmill. I was even able to jog on the treadmill today at 5 miles per hour. After all that we walk around the indoor track and stop to do pushups and some ring-rows (working up to pull-ups in the future). I need to do this much more often. I feel great when we do it. But it’s nearly an hour drive to the gym so I can’t really go more than 2 or 3 times a week.

When we’d finished my daughter called to see if I’d pick up the girls from school and take them to a dentist appointment she’d forgotten about. Then another sister called to see if I’d do some errands and shopping with her! Lots of running back and forth today. I was away from 6 in the morning to almost 7 this evening. But it helped me to keep my fast!

Audrey, that chicken in the slow cooker sounds delicious. I’ll have to try that later this week. I have a beef roast for tomorrow and some nice bones for making a broth. And Cinque, your Asian salad sounds great, too. Everything seems to sound good at the end of a fast day! It’s 10 here so I best get to bed. Enjoy the day! Patty

Hello all,
It is a grey, warm morning. I hope it is nice in Cheshire and places all over the world!

SecretlySlim, how frustrating. It is hard to be tired and hungry and preparing the family meal. I’m glad you have worked out such an excellent resolve. All power to you,

Wow Patty, what a workout! It is a long way to the gym, but 2 or 3 times a week is great! And your eye must be healing if all that didn’t make it hurt. Don’t families keep you busy! My daughter, her husband and toddler are coming back to live in Melbourne in a few months so I’m expecting to get super busy!

That delicious sounding chicken and mushroom recipe sounds like one I make in my pressure cooker. Yum! I need to make it soon!

Time for ☕️
Bye!