Happy Monday!!!!!
FD for me today, then not so sure due to Turkey Day on Thurs. My daughter is hosting myself and DH, although I will prepare the turkey and all she will have to do is cook it.
Wonderful recipes, thank you Fastingme! Got back bone density test and all is currently well, but I am sure that estrogen is the reason……still flashing but completely off HRT. Nice and cold here in MA but soon I will head to FL w DH and our 2 huge cats and fear flashes will become unbearable.
Added collagen peptides to daily intake so already have consumed 40 calories.
CSLB glad you are back on board, hope you had a chance to try the delicious recipes.
Hi Longlife 1, thinking of you and hoping all is going well. Trust me, if I haven’t become discouraged by lack of weight loss no one should….still very slow but going in right direction.
Dear LOACA I wish you all a great week!

Hi all! I’ve been gone for awhile and now that my health has stabilized, I need to get back on track and lose 40 lbs. I did so well on the 5:2 losing 20 lbs., but regained all of it. Last January, I survived a pulmonary embolism (blood clot in my lung) after being immobilized with the flu. I had terrible side effects from the meds and now I’m finally on a blood thinner that’s tolerable. I’m just thankful to be alive and want to do all I can do to stay healthy. My BMI is now at 30 and, although all my blood work is normal, my doctor has said my being overweight puts me at risk for cancer, diabetes, heart problems, etc. I have a Fitbit that tracks my steps & water intake, so I try to walk at least 30 minutes every day & drink 64. oz. This is so hard–like climbing a mountain, but I know I have to do it. I’ll turn 67 next month and want the years ahead to be good ones. I don’t want to think one day that I could’ve done something for my health and didn’t. Instead of waiting until after the holidays, I want to get started this week on the 5:2. Why wait, right? Tomorrow and Friday will be my fast days. I’ll have oatmeal with blueberries & almonds for breakfast and an omelette with peppers,mushrooms and spinach for an early dinner. Hope everyone who is celebrating Thanksgiving has a lovely one!

Hi everybody! Its very interesting topic for me and my mother.I’ll have big pleasant to join your forum.

Hi everybody, sorry for not showing up some weeks. Tomorrow I have a FD , one of the first because the flu hit me bad. Had it 2 times. Glad to be able to start my fasting regime again. Tomorrow I wil read all your stories .

Hope you all had a very happy Christmas.

I’m 61 and have been on the diet for 3 months. Have any of you grief appetite suppressants, natural or prescribed ?

fasting_me: Thank you for the recipes you shared with me! I have been too busy to send gratitude until now, but it was much appreciated. I’m getting back to 5:2 when the holiday is over!

Hey fasting_me I live in Central MA a town named Grafton. Thx for good wishes!
Welcome Lana Sool, hope you and your Mom are doing well. Still trying Fasting?
Rosy Posy, no actual diet pills but I use an organic cookie made by Smart for Life which does help with hunger. It contains a special filling fiber and actually works.

Hi Fasting me, I’m one of those people who prefer not to open the flood gates by eating solid food as Once I say ok I want to go back for more. I’m a rules person so find it easier this way. I don’t know how much I have exactly. I start with 2 cappuccinos as I love coffee and my gp says I need calcium which suits me as I hate black coffee. Then I will have a stock cube in boiling water ( bouillon) . I am hols at the moment so can make unlimited trips to the toilet, so am happy to fill up on iced water with lemon and mint. At night I have a large , iced glass of Metamucil (orange flavoured psyllium) which really fills me up and if I am feeling naughty, I add a shot of vodka !!!!
When I am at work I have to ‘hold on’ for a few hours and also need more energy so I have a protein shake for breaky and one for lunch, followed by Metamucil at night. We have such social weekends , it takes me till Wed on a working week to get below the previous loss, by Sat I lose between 200g to 1.7 kg. Can’t explain the variation.

Happy New Year to all you dear LOACA. See you in 2019.

Back to reality……tomorrow I shall attempt my first fast day of 2019. My turtle like progress will resume, I hope, and I shall be grateful that finally I have discovered what truly works for me.

fasting_me…. Fabulous weekend at soccer tournament, my grandson is ALL THAT AND A BAG OF CHIPS (to quote my younger grandchild). Coach awarded him the ball at conclusion of games and now I better understand his desire to return to Europe and continue playing soccer.

Bluemoon8….. Good for you making the decision to change for the better. Often I am confronted with your exact discouragement when I regain the weight that was lost on a fasting day, that said I am a healthy eater and find that restricting carbs and sugar allows me to stay on track. My best guess would be that if you read the tips TDEE at top of forum on HOW IT WORKS perhaps that will enable you to eat in a way that supports your attempt to be successful. It is so worthwhile, only down 9 lbs in 7 months but feel great and numbers from recent bloodwork confirm that this WOL
is beneficial. Stay the course, it works!

Hope everyone has a fabulous 2019!

Thank you Soccergrandma and bjanna for your kind words of encouragement.

Soccergrandma I found the page with TDEE and filled it in and it works out that i should eat no more than 1930 cals a day, which is strange because I have a fitbit and if I average out how many calories I burn each week, it comes to about 2200 cals per day. But I will try it out and only eat 1900 on non fast days and see if that gets the scales moving downwards.

bjanna, I will try keeping an eye on what I eat on the non fast days first, otherwise I think I will try doing 4:3. Those slim noodles sound great but I am not sure we can get them here in the UK.

Bluemoon, if you stick with 1900 calories on a Slow Day for a while, then try 1800 calories. You won’t miss those 100, and you will probably lose weight faster. Then go down another 100. You will find that you will be quite happy at 1700 calories by then. just a thought.

northrancher, good luck with the cataract surgery. Fingers crossed for you.

Fasting today and I sure need it: weight went up 2 pounds over last 3 days. Rats.

Blue Moon, I also have that same issue. NFDs are the problem in that I’ve found I really can’t just eat whatever I want and lose weight based on two fast days. I did not count calories, but I did eliminate sugar, fast food, sodas, and had to be mindful of eating more veggies and fruit. So, basically I was eating a Mediterranean diet on NFDs and felt great, btw.

Others may have a different (and even better) way of doing the 5:2,, but I lost 20 lbs. this way. I’m going to read through this forum to see if I can fine tune what I’m doing since I need to take off 40 lbs. But, my doctor recommended the fast diet to improve my lipids and they improved significantly. We were both shocked! I was also pre-diabetic and now my glucose is normal. He told me my recent labs were all “gold star.” So any weight loss through fasting seems to improve our overall health, and for that reason alone, I’m committed to making it work again.

Hope this helps. I see this more of a lifestyle change, than a diet. Forced me to make better food choices and even move more. Good luck.

Happy New Year, looks as if fast day is a success……gained about 1.5 lbs over Holidays, on in a week off in a month 🙁
Northrancher, I completely understand feeling nervous before Cataract surgery; but it was the best thing I ever did. Several of my friends agree 100%. Wishing you the same wonderful result we’ve all enjoyed.
Fasting_me, you’ve got this, all your fab recipes and years of success are an inspiration to all of us.

That’s what it’s about, Bluemoon: as NorthRancher says. learning to make good/better food choices for every day of the week. When I said ‘reduce by 100 calories each day’ I didn’t mean that you had to count every calorie. Just figure that 1 cookie = 100 calories. 1/3 cup of snack pretzels = 130 calories. In fact, most snack foods have a serving size equal to 130 calories. If you are prone to snacking, eliminate one snack and have a glass of sparkling water or cup of sternly-flavored herbal tea instead. You will see results.

Soccergran, thanks for your kind words. ODH lost 2.9 pounds after yesterday’s Fast! I lost 0.7 pounds, but I’ll take it. Had a lovely Pear, Bleu Cheese, and Walnut Salad. One of our favorites. It is divine.

Cold wave here in New Hampshire. Mustn’t over-eat to compensate!
Happy week-end.

Soccergran, keto seems to be waning in popularity, from what I’ve read. I’m curious to know how the Keto diet differs from Fasting. Is it about what you eat as opposed to how much? Clue me in.

here is the Pear & Bleu Cheese Salad:
Pear & Bleu Cheese Salad: 277 calories 18 g fat 5 g fiber 17 g protein 22 g carbs 215 mg Calcium PB GF V Such a delightful melange of flavors!
2.5 cups mesclun [baby greens] 2 oz pears 1 oz bleu cheese, crumbled 1.5 oz tomato, cubed or cherry-type ¼ oz walnuts 1 oz cannelli beans, rinsed and drained 1 tsp olive oil + ¾ tsp white Balsamic vinegar
Toast the walnuts by putting them in a heavy, dry pan and tossing/stirring over medium-high until the nuts become fragrant. Whisk the oil and vinegar in a wide, shallow bowl. Add the white beans and the salad greens along with a pinch of finishing salt. Toss to coat with the dressing. Put into the serving plate and garnigh with the remaining ingredients. Amazing.

Good FastDay yesterday: ODH lost 1.3 pounds and I lost 0.7, which is fine. Hoping to be lower in weight [or at least not to have gained] tomorrow since it will be my 70th birthday. I’m definitely ‘of a certain age’ aren’t I? We will go out for dinner tonight and enjoy a new meal for dinner at home tomorrow. The Ladies of Skein will be at my house tomorrow, which is always jolly. And on the weekend, our sons will come home [3-day weekend] to help ODH prepare a sit-down dinner-for-16 for me. What a treat! Sure want to be on the slim side for that!

Bluemoon… Rosy…, you asked for advice on what to eat on Fast Days. Protein is always a good place to start. Lots of vegetables and a lot less [or no] simple Carbs. If you click my ‘handle’ you will see my profile. There you’ll find the URL for my blog on which I post meals for Fast Days. Maybe that will give you some ideas.

In a previous post, I recommended ‘sternly-flavored tea.’ How Calvinistic! The Puritans would have approved, but I meant to say ‘strongly-flavored’. Which can be very jolly to imbibe.
Very cold here in Northern new England of late — the Polar Vortex, much beloved by TV weather people, has returned.

Hello all and Happy Thursday!

Soccergrandma, thank you for asking about me–very thoughtful of you.xo My cataract surgery went smoothly and my eyesight has improved. Amazing how bright the world looks now!

I haven’t been consistent with the 5:2 over the last 2 weeks, but getting back to it. Tomorrow is a birthday celebration for my daughter, who turns 30, so there wil be a special dinner and cake. Definitely not an FD for me LOL, so I’ll pick Sunday and Tuesday to reset.

I’ve committed to not buying any new clothes, until I start losing weight again. That should be motivation AND my annual physical is coming up and I want my blood test numbers to remain in the normal range. I’m also tired of seeing “overweight” as a “problem” on my chart. It clearly is the reason I’ve had high cholesterol in the past and was pre-diabetic. I also suspect it impacted my getting a blood clot while bed-ridden with the flu. So,lots of reasons to resume 5:2 and make it stick this time.

fasting_me, that pear and walnut salad recipe looks so yummy. Thanks for posting it! And, Happy Birthday!

Hope everyone is feeling well and staying the course!

AB, welcome to Fasting. Glad you had some quick progress. Yes, it could be that you discover there are foods that put the weight back on and keep it there. For me, those are beer and white rice. happily I don’t indulge in those as they are not favorites. How much wine do you drink? 5 oz/day is the recommended amount for women. Those empty calories add up. For that matter, what do you eat on Slow Days? It is a myth that you can ‘eat anything you want.’ Doing that puts the weight on again.
Your interval jogging sounds like a good HIIT workout! Well done. PS– I’m 70.

NorthRancher, glad the surgery went well, with good results. When is the annual physical and how much do you want to lose by then? I want to root you on.

SoccerGran, what got you into Keto? Are you doing it in conjunction with Fasting? As Dr Mosley says, beware of diets that have you eliminate entire food groups. Glad you are feeling good with it. Did you get any of the recent snow? We in NH got 8″, then tiny bouncy ice balls. today is all rain. 🙁 You are an Aquarian? So is my husband.

Thank you both for your kind birthday wishes. It was a lovely party, with wonderful foods and wines. Plus any excuse to have the boys home is welcome.

Fasting today: Banana Papanas for breakfast [its a new recipe] and Grapefruit-Avocado Salad for dinner.

Friday..no fasting today WOOHOO
Emails notifications are fine again!

northrancher, congrats on your successful surgery, one more step in the right direction, you’ve got this You seem determined to succeed and are making good decisions, hopefully your physical will encourage you to keep up the hard work. The longer I stay the course on 5:2 the easier it gets.

Welcome AB 805, interval jogging is great, HIIT is recommended while doing this WOL. You’re still a youngin and CAN keep it up!

fasting_me, no snow in FL but word is 3-4″ in MA. So glad your b’day was very special and happy.
I am fasting and trying Keto because I have about 5 lbs. left to lose and have stalled. Keto is the Diet de Jour here in Vero Beach and I ,of course, jumped on the bandwagon. Funny you are a Capricorn married to an Aquarian and I am an Aquarian married to a Scorpio……strange matches for both of us 🙂

zippycc Thanks for the encouragement but since I will soon be 73, 3 years is a lifetime for me.LOL

Welcome, wakan. Your 70 pound loss is stupendous! What is a ‘dirty Keto’???

Soccergran, your dip into Keto is completely normal, since you are visiting Florida — they love to diet!

Zippy, as long as the trend is downward, everything is OK.

Weight after yesterday’s Fast is in the Good Range. Have a colonoscopy scheduled on Tuesday morning, so I’ll really be “fasting’ on Monday — except the darned fruit juice is loaded with sugar. Wonder what my weight will be on Tuesday morning? I’ll eat low fiber tomorrow, then very low fiber on Sunday, and ‘juice fasting’ on Monday. With so much experience Fasting, not eating will be second nature.

Have a great weekend.

Hi everyone!

This is my first FD in more than a year. I always start a FD with a big glass of water, a bowl of hot oatmeal with raspberries and a sprinkle of cinnamon and a cup of coffee. I’ll do nonfat Greek yogurt, sparkling water & an apple for a late lunch and salmon with asparagus for dinner with water before 6pm. That should be about 500 calories. I keep telling myself I can do this again! Crossing my fingers I can “detox” from sugar. Going cold turkey on eliminating sugar and bread and leaning into veggies and fruit. Will take me awhile, but even if I slip up, I’m determined to keep going one step at a time.

Fasting_me, thanks for offering to root me on! I’m grateful for all the help I can get. To answer your question, I was due in January for my annual, but since I saw my doc in October for blood tests, I’m slipping my annual until April or May. I’m thinking by then I should be down by at least 10-15 lbs. Hope all went smoothly with your colonoscopy. That prep is a big assist for a FD!

Interesting to read about the Keto diet some of you are following. When I was on a med (Xarelto) for my PE, it caused severe side effects, including rapid kidney decline. I’ve since switched meds and my kidney function is thankfully back to normal, but what got it to improve was following the DASH diet, which is the Mediterranean Diet without the red wine. lol. I will once again follow the Mediterranean “diet” and the reason I bring this up…this was the aha moment for me about how food choices can “cure” us from ill health. What I chose to eat was either good or bad for my kidneys and overall health. So, I was slow to the party, and it took a scary wake up call to make me realize I had a second chance to get it right. It’s all a choice and there is no doubt in my mind that eating well and following the 5:2 reduces inflammation and keeps me healthy.

Sorry for rambling on so long! Hope you are all having a good Wednesday and keeping warm, especially in the US where the frigid temps are scary low! We’ve had a lot of snow here, but today it’s sunny with bright blue skies.

Hope everyone is warm and safe today.

FD for me, mostly liquids, MCT oil to fuel brain and body and collagen peptides to hold body together! 500 calories are quick to consume so lots of water as well.

fasting_me, glad to hear all went well and that you are back on track helping all of us with tips,
food is definitely medicine, many have reduced or stopped meds when changing their consumption habits. Wish YS a safe day in the brutal cold of Chicago.

northrancher, congrats on making the decision to do 5:2 again…it works. Your food choices are healthy and perfectly appropriate for FD. The one thing I would suggest would be drinking Smart Water or any electrolyte added water while “going cold turkey on sugar and carbs”….it helps you to feel well during this time.

WOW wakan49, how long did it take you to lose 70 lbs? AMAZING girl! Sounds as if you are doing Dirty, Lazy Keto and it works for you.

zippycc, my weight loss tracks very much like yours. The less carbs and sugar I eat, the faster I lose.

Happy Thurs. to all, and enjoy a wonderful weekend.

Weather is warmer by 40 degrees than at dawn yesterday! Amazing how it can swing this time of year.
YS said it was so cold in Chicago on Weds and Thurs, that he worked from home. Smart lad.

Hooray! Our Patriots won again! What a slog that game was. [sorry if you weren’t rooting for them]

Fasting today: I made some ‘fiddly food’ for today’s breakfast — heart-shaped bread with fruit and yogurt/almond cream topping served with heart-shaped Canadian Bacon. I’m rushing the Valentine season since I needed to get the photo taken to post in my blog. Dear Husband is very patient with this. Dinner will be an old favorite: Shrimp Udon Quick-Fry.

Happy Monday.

northrancher, good job on the eating and tracking and stepping. You will surely be successful. Are you getting any of that California storm — did it make it over the mountains to you?

Freezing rain all last night and today. But warmer now, so I think it has melted. We could use some more snow around here.

We went out to dinner last night and today I’m 2.5 pounds above where I want to be. Rats. Fasting today, so it ought to melt off. I hope.