Hello LLOACA ….the questions would be @gomarg, who wants a Facebook page for we LLOACAs.. If there was a demand then it’s not difficult to set one up. What does everyone think.

xx

Precious I found your post Nov.20th. and Barnes and Noble have it. It means a lot because for the Peatfield book , my library got it from Texas and I have it for 3 weeks. Fat, Fuzzy and Frazzled will be easy to get and I have a gift card to B&N.

Thanks for your help and understanding. I can get soooo frustated with some symptoms. The anxiety is the worst though.
Just wanted to say yest. was my 7th fast day and it went very well. It does get easier. My non fast days are great, but am experimenting with what and how much to eat. I kind of think the non-fast days are what could make or break my diet.

Again thanks for the help and kind words, they mean so much.

@ Sylvestra – yes! LOACAs need our own FB page! I’d join it in a heartbeat.

@ronnah and @gomarg Let’s see if there’s enough support to make it worthwhile

xx

You are the awesome one, @markie99. I can vaguely remember from 30 years ago that the last 5 kg are the hardest to lose, so “GANBATTE-NE” (“Don’t give up the fight”), as the Japanese say. Living in sunny Queensland, I can’t even imagine what -15F feels like. I once spent a winter in Tokyo, but it wasn’t ever as cold as that.

Markie, where are you in Wisconsin. I live by the Mississippi River in the Quad Cities. Today it is a balmy 2F.

Sylvestra, Gomarg and Freefalling, I too support the facebook idea.

There is something to be said for exercising half-way through a fast day. Yesterday, on my Thursday fast, I was finding it a bit of a struggle by 3.00 p.m., after 8 hours without food, so I decided to do my 3 km walk to distract myself. (That’s about 1.9 miles – sounds better in kilometres!) I couldn’t believe how energised I felt. Usually on fast days, I walk straight after breakfast, thinking that I might faint or collapse from hunger if I leave it until the afternoon. Yesterday I had errands to run in the morning, so I had missed my walk. Today, on a normal-eating day, I actually felt a bit sluggish during my walk this afternoon. I know this information isn’t much use to you snow bunnies in the northern hemisphere at the moment. It is probably getting dark for you at 3.00 p.m., and you wouldn’t want Jack Frost to be nipping at your toes as you trudge through snow drifts!

Hello, All–those in the sunny Southern hemi and those of you (like me) in the wintry north. Even Atlanta can’t escape this winter weather, and those of you in the States are probably mortified to see all the news reports of what chaos 2 little inches of snow can do to this major city! We looked like a bunch of idjits down here, stranded by the thousands in our cars, schoolchildren stuck on buses; what a mess. Being a fairly recent transplant to Atlanta & coming from Minneapolis, I was mortified by it all. Anyway, I was tucked in all warm and toasty during the worst of it, as were my husband and 3 of the kids. It has been days and days of togetherness, and I was a little relieved to send them all off to school and work again today. I was also relieved to get back to my normal WOE, particularly after a VERY disheartening week, weight-wise. I had been thrilled to share having gotten to 139.2, (just 7 lbs. or so from my intended maintenance weight) just a week and a half ago, and then last weekend was filled with big social events and a very lazy day at home–no exercise & more snacking than usual. I knew that I was out of my ‘normal’ eating patterns but really, really shocked to see that the scale had jumped 4 LBS. in just two days!! I assumed that this was some minor, weird very-temporary glitch that would resolve itself in a few days as I returned to my normal WOE, but that was a week ago and I am still trying to peel it off and I’m still only halfway there. I really try to take what the scale says with a grain of salt, but being up 4 lbs. after such a relatively small and short-lived tumble off the wagon??

It honestly feels like my body is doing whatever it can to get back to my old ‘normal’ weight. I think, too, that some of it has to do with the peri-menopausal roller coaster that I’m on. Whatever it is, it was discouraging, and these days at home all hunkered down watching movies and playing board games and having everyone around me consuming the entire contents of the fridge and cupboards didn’t help. I did make it back to the gym yesterday and today and that seems to be helping. I am trying to be patient and remind myself that sometimes it truly is ‘Two steps forward, one step back.” It has also been a great reminder that I have no intention of giving up the progress I’ve made. That ‘140’ is my hill to die on; in 8 years, I have not been able to get below it, whether I was 5 lbs. away from it or 20 lbs., and this time is going to be different. I know that we all have our own ‘hills,’ the internal goals that provide us with a healthy motivation to continue on in this slow and steady process that has such tremendous benefits. During this past week, I read all of your posts even as I was so frustrated with my own setback. They really provided me with the encouragement that I needed, and served as a great reminder that I was not alone with this challenge of having a less than linear route to my version of satisfaction. So, thanks, everyone; hopefully I can get back soon to my previous low, and make further progress from there. Cheers!

Today I was pleasantly surprised.

Now I am no fan of ready meals, I usually avoid them, but today I was running late so I was looking for something quick, easy and with not too many calories – I’m on a ‘fast day’ today.

Asda were selling Weight Watchers meals at £1.50 so I grabbed a ‘Jamaican Jerk Curry Chicken with Rice’. It was surprisingly good and there’s was loads, so filling too – and only 308 calories the lot!

I don’t plan to do this again any time soon but it’s good to know there’s a’grab it and go’ option if I need it.

xx

gomarg- it’s been a little cold here- some of us have been having a hard time- -we go outside and the hair in our noses crystallizes in seconds. If you aren’t in a portion of the country that is used to snow, it can be very distressing.

shar- my mountain is also 140 lbs- not going to die there. No matter how stuck i am at the moment.

Piper–good luck with that 140; absolutely–this will NOT be the number that defeats us!

Gomarg–I loved your elevator analogy for weight loss; it was funny and encouraging. So what if I’m stuck for a bit on a floor that I didn’t intend to revisit? I’ll just keep punching the right button and wait patiently for the ‘lift’ to descend again. I also laughed out loud when I read that our winter storm debacle here in Atlanta had actually made the news in Australia! The world is most definitely flat, isn’t it?

Have a good weekend, LOACA friends! I’m feeling resolved and ready to keep undoing the gain from last week, despite my body’s efforts to work its way back into a more familiar state of chubbiness. I’ve done loads of reading about the theory of ‘set point’ over the years and I am a firm believer in it. That’s why I’m willing to see this through this time, no matter how long it takes. It’s no surprise, really, that I’ve gone up a bit on my way to a permanent ‘down.’ I am so glad that I went through my closet a couple of weeks ago when I was at my lowest and tried on things I hadn’t worn in a couple of years–what a motivation to get back to it, and to go on from there! I also have that vacation to the Bahamas coming up on Feb. 19, and I want to be comfortable in lighter clothes (not to mention my swimsuit!) by then. Markie99, don’t you have a mid-winter tropical getaway planned too, or am I wrong about that? It seems to me that everyone living in Minnesota & Wisconsin this winter should have a state-sponsored, mandatory vacation in a sunny, warm clime this year! Have a lovely Saturday, ladies, wherever you are. 🙂

Sylvestra–that is wonderful! 49 lbs. gone in a year’s time; you must be feeling so good about your efforts! That past year would’ve come and gone regardless, but if you hadn’t decided to do this thing, you would still be walking around at your old weight. Instead, here you are today, healthier, stronger and just 19 lbs. away from the weight you’ve decided to live your life at; wow!! Good for you! I, too, choose to set my goals in manageable increments, 5 lbs. at a time–so much easier to focus on. I reminded myself today when I weighed in at 142. 6 (grrr…still 3 lbs. over the lowest weight I had achieved so far on the 5:2) that last September when I started this journey at 156.2 lbs, I would’ve been thrilled to see the low 140’s on my scale. So, onward and downward, as we LOACAS like to say. Hope your weather improves soon, Sylvestra, and you can get out for some brisk exercise and fresh air.

@roba, have you already joined the “Southern Hemispherites” Facebook page? I’ll be 59 next week, but I’d be happier if I were going to be 59 kg instead!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/01/19/winnie-the-pooh-quotes-_n_4610459.html?utm_hp_ref=email_share
Hope this link works. At the mention of Chrisopher Robin. I thought of these quotes.

all applicants so far are inside 😀

For anyone else who might be interested

LLOACAWA – Lovely Ladies of a Certain Age – with attitude ….is open for business. Now it’s up to you!!
https://www.facebook.com/groups/575310312566717/

xx

I’ve asked to join. Do I have to wait to be accepted?

@gomarg. I’ll be 61 soon and would’ve liked to have been 61kg! I’ve dropped from 80kg when I started in July to 64.9 so don’t think I’ll make it. I’ll probably find it hard to get much below 63-that’s what my body historically has been ‘happy’ with.
Btw-did you say you’re in Brisbane? We were there for a month in sept/October as my son and grandkids are living there.

I’m noticing, apart from the weight loss and health improvements, a difference in my skin. I’ve always been fortunate to have a good complexion but I was a bit worried because I’ve seen people who have lost loads of weight who get very wrinkly faces.

I have plenty wrinkly skin elsewhere but I can cover that up with clothes!! I do use E45 lotion on my skin but I’m putting a lot of the credit for the lack of wrinkles and the nice soft smooth skin on my face and neck down to the amount of water I’m drinking.

Has anyone else noticed an improvement?

xx

@sylvestra, I’ve just clicked “ask to join” on your new “LOACA – With Attitude” Facebook page, but I think you’re all still asleep in the northern hemisphere at the moment! I think the reason you have such a good complexion, @sylvestra, is because you live in Scotland – all that highland mist keeping it hydrated, och aye! We Australians of a certain age have usually experienced sun damage and even skin cancers (I have), because the advantages of modern sunscreen creams weren’t available to us when we were children and teenagers. I can remember when I was fifteen and the Queen was visiting Australia, I stood in the crowd just a few feet away from her as she opened a new courthouse in Brisbane. I thought she had the most beautiful, glowing complexion I had ever seen – and she was forty-four years old at the time.

@gomarg – you should be ‘in’ now.

But please – it’s not ‘MY’ page…I only facilitated it…it’s up to everyone who joins to make it work and keep it going if that’s what’s wanted.

You could be right about my location playing a part. Many years ago, in the 1970s, I (mis)spent some of my youth in Australia…I was teased and laughed at by a friend who lived at that time in NSW, for refusing to go out without a big brimmed hat but I have pale skin of the ‘Celtic’ variety and burn easily.
My friend moved to QLD in the 1980s and I met up with her about 5 years ago when she came to the UK. She’s a great person but her skin has the appearance and texture of an old boot!! Maybe there’s something to be said for living in wet and windy Scotland after all. Our water is very soft too so I suppose that helps….and the genes too.

xx

I just started the fast diet yesterday. I am of that certain age, 50, where losing weight is next to impossible in spite of swimming competitively, hiking, bicycling, walking, climbing real stairs, etc. However, i learned i had fibroids in my uterus, and just had my uterus and tubes removed on dec. 30. I have to say that being symptomatic for two years, i was steadily gaining weight. And the stress of commuting to a low-paying job here ín the states in a low-morale environment with an unemployed husband has not helped. The deprivation of a daily diet would not work for me. However, from removing my bulky uterus and with a reduced appetite post-surgery, I lost 5 pounds. With starting yesterday, i lost 1.8 lbs.
I am not saying others may have my similar situation or medical problem. However, make sure there is no underlying medical condition. I hope this helps, sincerely.

Hi Colleen49!
My days are Sunday and Thursday because I wanted one comfortable day at home. This may change when I start swimming next month, however. I think if i drop 15-16 lbs from here, it will be a very comfortable weight. I can’t lose so much that I am too thin for my sports, but at this age, I don’t think thst will happen! LOL

@sonunda thank you for your kind words!! My daughter says I ‘don’t look bad for an old bird’!! She also says that she is now happy that she looks so much like me as she knows what she’ll look like in 25 years! 😀

xx

Hi.
Thank you for your thread.
It was impossible to lose weight having that medical condition and having a stressful work and home life. When there is deprivation in one’s life, it is hard to diet. I am a competitive swimmer, so dieting is not smart, especially in mid-training. Abd the home and work problems remain. However, with my medical condition fixed, i am less burdened mentally and physically. A lot of it is psychological and mental and physical readiness. I could only fight one battle at a time. I think I am on my way, and this Fast Diet seems to be a lot less challenging than any other diet. If i could lose 8 lbs in a month, then I will bet at an ideal weight by the end of March. Then, it is maintenance, and my training season can begin fully.