Hello dear ladies, those of a certain age and also those young ones who are reading the thread and who are so welcome to post.

This is such an interesting conversation.

I have to say I never thought about my medium sized breasts very much. In the 60’s, boyish sweaters were very popular and I wished I was a little smaller at that time, but as styles changed I kind of forgot about my breasts.

I noticed them again when I began to gain unwanted weight in the past five years or so. I didn’t like having bigger breasts at all, although they were still fairly medium. As I lost weight in the past few months, I was relieved that my breasts got a little smaller. Now I’ve forgotten about them once again.

After reading this discussion, I can only imagine the discomfort some of you have been through, and on a daily basis for years and years. @sylvestra, your story is horrifying and I hope that if you want a reduction you are able to get one. It’s never too late to have the opportunity to feel more comfortable and at ease in our bodies. I think that is why we are all here.

Just want to add, I have a very busy life and I know that all of you have busy lives too. I have felt very welcome in this group, and never worry or feel offended if I don’t get a response or welcome when I post. I know there are some new posters that I have enjoyed reading but haven’t responded to. I agree with Precious BooBoo that we should respond when we can, and I know we do when we have the time and feel we have something to add to the discussion.

I appreciate all of you and your comments and stories. Good luck to everyone who is fasting or trying to eat within their optimum range tomorrow. We can do this ladies, whatever our age may be.

@sylvestra you beautiful and amazing woman! You deserve to have your dreams fulfilled!

Thank you for your words of support and encouragement, ladies. I can only hope that maybe this time…… I wish I could afford to just go and have the op done but that’s not possible so I’ll see how it goes.

Going by this week it’s going to take a while, as for some strange reason I seemed to be gaining not losing. I’ve done 4:3 for the last couple of weeks instead of 5:2 and exercised as usual but a couple of pounds seems to have appeared from somewhere. It’s a bit annoying after consistently losing for weeks but it’ll go eventually I hope.

xx

I’m not sure quite what you mean by ‘boobs are overrated’, Applecrisp.

‘Most slender women don’t have double DDs’ …Precisely!! Which is why if your boobs don’t reduce along with the rest of your body, they become an issue. I don’t think anyone said a good figure isn’t about waist and hips too, but a good figure is about proportion.

I’m sorry but your comment ‘be happy with what you have’ is precisely the unhelpful type of attitude and comment I’ve been getting all my life. Why should I be happy with pain and discomfort?

I went back and read your comments and I do understand how hurtful ” be happy with what you have” can be.

Hi, I’ve just found this thread.
I’ve been on the 5:2 way of life for nearly 11 months.
I’m on a plateau at the moment – well worse really, because of Christmas over indulgence!
Still, I don’t snore any more and I’m two dress sizes smaller. I do still have a huge flabby tummy. My problem is that I loathe exercise. I love long lazy lie-ins and hours on the computer and watching tv, so I think I’m a lost cause. Are there any similarly sedentary ladies here?

@leevee …you have already lost weight so you know that 5:2 works. just climb right back up here on the wagon with the rest of us. falling – or jumping – off once in a while is fine. We all know we can start again when we’re ready. Just calculate your TDEE for ‘sedentary’, there are many people who don’t exercise for a variety of reasons but 5:2 still works for them.

No-one is ever a ‘lost cause’ 😀

xxx

I’ve had DDD’s forever – When I was 200 lbs I was a 40DDD and now I’m a 34DDD – sigh wish they would go down as well. Even a DD would be nice at this point, they make cuter stuff for DD’s 🙂

@sylvestra it will surely go. Keep doing what you are doing and it will.

Thursday is my usual fast day but it didn’t work out very well today, so I plan to fast tomorrow instead. I did manage 16:8 though. Love the flexibility of this WOE. Will weigh “officially” tomorrow, but it seems I will be down only half a pound, if that, for this week. Still have time to lose 6 pounds by mid-March, and plan to stay on this WOE forever while maintaining someday, so I have no choice but to keep going.

I have a feeling that I will be able to maintain by using 16:8 on most days. Does anyone else have experience with 16:8? Does anyone think that restricting calories for 16 hours (and eating within my optimum range during the other 8 hours on most days) will be effective for maintaining?

Ladies, best wishes to all who plan to fast, and those on NFDs, tomorrow.

It seems we can all get a little tetchy talking about titties so perhaps we need time out for a giggle. There used to be an old joke about how to lose 15 pounds of ugly fat – go cut off your head.

My sister, the one we nickname ‘scrap’ because she is short and scrawny, always had big breasts. In her late 50s she was having a few heart issues, trying very hard to be fit and healthy, and it was her cardiologist who suggested a breast reduction. It cost her $15K (not a problem for her) and it changed her life. She felt able to run and play tennis, go swimming, take up golf. Her surgeon removed 4kg of tissue and she went from an F+ cup to a C. Now that is a very very drastic way to lose weight – and weight wasn’t my sister’s issue – but it changed how I viewed breast reduction surgery. It is not cosmetic. It can be a very significant step toward better long term health.

I think we’re all capable of putting our foot in it at some point (whether in real life or online). I used to be terribly socially inept until my mid-twenties – something I’m very happy to have lost.

I know which great grandmother I inherited mine from – I’ve called it The Family Chest 🙂 When I first started treatment for PCOS/androgens I lost 16kg without even trying and only went from an H to a GG (UK sizing). I’m lucky to have inherited body strength from my dad’s side so haven’t yet had any back problems from it. But I may need to start some specific upper body exercises to make sure that I don’t in the future.

Just a quick hello from me, as it really is past my bedtime!!

Markie99 – I know of a number of people who successfully maintain on 16:8, but you do still need to remain mindful of what you are eating as consumption can creep up. Lots of people on 5:2 seem to find that they are fine without breakfast, so easily move into 16:8. I have had periods of observing 16:8 but I have found it too restrictive to do it every day. However, I do think it is a good concept, and try to have some non-fast days as 16:8, or even 18:6 (etc).

I had a good fast day yesterday, after a terrible one on Sunday. I think I had been having a “famine reaction”, but hopefully am through that now (fingers crossed). Time will tell. 🙂

Have a great weekend everyone – and long weekend for those of us in Oz 😀 😀

Hey the scales dropped 400g – huzzah after 4 weeks there’s some movement. Plus I’m down 2cm on my waist & hips, and 1cm underbust. The bust it remains {rollseyes}. I’m only measuring myself monthly or I’d be OCD about like I am the scales (even before I was doing IF).

This thread is certainly moving fast. Good for us.

@sassy, thanks for your comments on 16:8. I find them encouraging. I prefer to not eat breakfast and find that as soon as I eat I get hungrier, so think it may work long term for me. You are right though – mindful eating will still be important to maintain.

@sylvestra, I meant that your pounds would surely go, and I’m delighted they did. No worries I realized you probably thought I was responding to a different post. 🙂 Re: mammograms – I wonder if the plates would be so cold if the machines were designed by women. Maybe they would have built in heaters instead, lol.

@arla, congratulations on your loss!!

@precious BooBoo, cheers! 🙂

Only a half pound loss to report this week, but I will take it. Have a great weekend everyone. We are visiting our darling grandchildren (and son and dear daughter in law) this weekend – they are 3 and 18 months so I will get some exercise in between the hugs and kisses and stories and songs. Can’t wait.

I have done it – 6 months on 5:2 and it is my normal way of life. I am posting my results as this forum has supported me without knowing- I have read lots of threads and it has helped enormously.

Start 217 lbs (98.6kg)
Today 174 lbs (79.1kg)

I have lost 7 inches ( 18 cm) off my waist or should I say what was my waist has now reappeared! And 3.5 ins (9 cm) off my neck – gross!
I have moved from obese to overweight and am plodding my way to normal weight. I need to loose another 14 lbs to get there. My original goal was a wedding in July and although the weight loss has slowed that is still my target. People at work have started to notice although my family and good friends had already seen the change. To keep motivated I put on clothes I have not been able to get into and I have sorted out loads for charity.

Whilst I am delighted for myself I am very pleased for everyone who has lost weight as I know how much healthier I feel not lugging around all that weight.

Elaine

Congratulations Elaine- although, I have to say- I find a 20k weight loss in 6 mths almost impossible to believe!
I’ve been doing it ‘by the book’ for 5 months- didn’t weigh at first but was probably around 67k, no more- and, last fortnightly weigh-in was just over 62! Pathetic! admittedly, my main exercise is walking my dog, but I have a very active working life. My normal diet is fresh, vegetarian food, no junk, it’s summer here so mostly salads & fruit, & I’ve even cut back (a bit) on the wine & carbs on non-fat days! Having said all that, when I embarked on this I was determined to make it as ‘normal’ as possible so I could keep it up, and that part is pretty easy to maintain.
Determined to get under 60 by Easter, but even if I don’t, I’ll keep it up as it is working, but ever so slowly!

Happy for you Elaine, it is amazing how much weight we carry. If it was in a backpack we would think it too heavy.

Aria , just curious about your treatment of PCOS/androgens consisted of.
I’ve lost about 5-7 lbs.,not sure about my scale. But it does give me a boost. It makes me want to tweak my WOE and as time goes by I tell myself “you are getting better at loosing wt. and being healthy” and I will keep improving- body and
mind.

@applecrisp, it’s a bit of a longish story.

I was diagnosed with PCOS just over 4 years ago (on the day of a massive red dust storm in eastern Australia that could be seen from the space satellites) and was told that I’d had it since puberty so it had been untreated around 30 years. I started on fairly typical treatment Brenda-35 ED (aka one of The pills) combined with Metformin 850 3x daily. Sometimes I got a bit exasperated trying to explain the Metformin is also used for PCOS & I wasn’t diabetic (usually a pharmacist making assumptions).

I dropped 16kg/35lb without even trying, which was great cos it showed that my biochemistry was my real weight problem. I should mention metformin resulted in not being able to eat red meat, but I figured I’d rather give up steak/lamb and eat more pork/chicken. A much better option than being fat & bald (receding hairlines aren’t just on men and my grandmother had major chrome dome).

When my gallbladder flared up it trigged crazy insane hypertension and although Brenda didn’t cause high blood pressure (or I’d have had it 3 years earlier) it didn’t help and I can’t ever take it again. Even on Metformin (with no Brenda) my hair started falling out again and the acne started to come back 🙁

Fortunately my appointment with an endocrinologist came through and she said it wasn’t just PCOS but also a genetic androgen disorder. For 15 months I’ve been on Aldactone 100 (a high dose) as well as Metformin. My hairdresser says my hair is thickening up and the receding hairline is filling in again. I rarely if ever get acne now and it had been hormonally triggered for 30 years.

What I found fascinating was that after about 2 years of treatment my hair had returned to a warm brown. After the 2nd time that literally half my hair fell out [age 25] I was so grateful that it grew back [again] that I wasn’t too upset that it went from brown with reddish highlights to a very dull ash brown.

The endo doesn’t need to see me again unless I have problems recur, and the hypertension specialist is happy I’ve gone from 3 pills down to 1. Crazy strange gallbladder – it was chronic inflammation *not* a trapped stone. The bloodwork indicated something was severely inflamed but there was no clear cause until my gallbladder became an definite problem and came out last April.

Because PCOS is known to eventually/often drag Type 2 Diabetes along for the ride, and I have a long string of inflammatory issues (asthma, hayfever, allergic dermatitis, food intolerances, plantar fasciitis, tennis elbow and the blessedly former gallbladder) I’m really interested in seeing if 5:2 will help these things more than I’m interested in losing weight. Yes I’d like to be slimmer again, too.

Hope that wasn’t too long or not relevant, Applecrisp

The longer posts where we describe our life circumstances and our 5:2 journey are very interesting to me. I wonder if the interwebs and forums like this aren’t becoming a bit like a catholic confessional. We are anonymous and telling our darkest secrets, sharing our intimate medical history with strangers. It helps. Maybe the catholics had something going with that idea.

Where else can I tell people I don’t like my droopy boobs but I love losing back fat, and get a positive response? Anyway, love youse all.

Aria, it has been a journey for you. I know 1st hand PCOS is not always treated or even deemed serious. One Dr. told me “well I guess it’s Pcos”but we aren’t going to do anything about-very frustrating.

My main concern now is reigning in my anxiety. I think it is partly hormone related. I spend a lot of time @ home.
I have some trouble going out at times and traffic really causes some trepidation for me. I just want to be normal and
not so fearful. In the meantime, I will work on my weight and health. I hope to get both my mind and body stronger. I
do think that will give me the courage to face some fears. My ultimate goal is to just be a laidback person.
Everybody can dream.

Aria, I feel like I have a good Dr. now the problem is he is soo busy. He is treating my Adrenal Fatigue so I do think he
would be receptive. A lot of what you talk about is familiar. Do you have a sesitivity to light?

Honey Boo I am reading the book by Dr. Durrant- Peatfield, it’s very readable. And I am going to bring it to my next Dr.
visit. I have to say my Dr.(who I started seeing in Sept) does seem to be doing a lot right so I am lucky.

I’m not sure if getting sunburn very quickly is what you mean. Though I blame my celtic ancestors & a crazy high UV country for that. Even avoiding too much sun I have plenty of freckles. Someone once said in conversation that you couldn’t get freckles on lips – and was startled when I pointed to a big on mine. Fades in winter, returns every summer.

I’m glad you’ve got a good GP now, and he’s helping with your Adrenal Fatigue.

It’s a public holiday here, so I was going to fast tomorrow instead. However my body said to me “food, Don’t Want It. Nope you’re fasting today”. Such a difference to the first 2-3 fasts.

Going back to Sylvestra’s post re the mammogram. I always have a fear that the fire alarm will go off while I’m stuck (literally) in there. 🙂

Linda

It was Australia Day holiday, and I haven’t owned sunglasses for over 15 years. Though I usually have a hat for shade. I’m up 1kg after my fast day, but it’s silly hormones.

About the metal plates, after an ultrasound that found 8 & 9 mm cysts I turned down a mammogram and made the Radiologist cringe when I said “If testicular cancer was found by flattening them between 2 metal plates, then they’d have a new & effective test long before now.” He agreed with me!