Hello Ladies,
Just checking in to let you know I am still alive. Bad throat and now chest infection has put me out of action for a few days, felt really sorry for myself. Luckily the scales have been kind to me ( one lb down) even though I am not gyming, dancing or playing badminton at the moment. Actually I have noticed before that I lose weight when I don’t exercise, and maintain level when I do loads, how weird is that? But toning is absolutely necessary so I accept that I cannot be lazy.
After my recent experience with a nurse practitioner’s advice about my cholesterol level being genetic I have decided to do my own research on the subject. Many posters have replied that she ‘mislead me’ and I hope that this is true. I don’t have much faith in my local GP, different person every time you visit, doesn’t help much. I will let you know how I get on! I have calmed down about it now.
At the end of the day the sun is shining and life is for living so I am off out tonight for a celebratory meal (my daughter has got a job after her first teaching interview) in a posh restaurant. I will eat whatever I want, they are micro portions anyway, tomorrow I fast and probably the next day too

Hi Ladies,
In the ‘white trousers’ theme I thought I would share my own anecdote. Tonight I was going out for a meal so I put on a nice blue dress. As I am an old fashioned gal I dug out my blue shoes to match. Oh no! What is going on! I couldn’t keep them on my feet, they were huge. I haven’t worn them since New Years Eve and the sling back fitted then, was possibly even a bit tight. Fortunately they have buckles, I couldn’t believe that I could tighten them to the last hole, that’s four notches. Actually I should even add another hole for a good fit. Well this is one place I did not consider measuring. Anyone else having this ‘floppy shoe syndrome’ , maybe it’s the ballroom fitness class effect? This could be very expensive, my shoe collection is seriously huge and most are not sling backs! Roll on summer I may be needing my flip flops.

To Applecrisp: welcome back! was worried about you sister. Long time no hear-from. Glad you had a great vacation.

@k8tie I love the “menopot” belly … I think I have it, although I’m not yet perimenopausal. I just made a new skirt using a pattern I’ve used 3-4 times before and it didn’t fit around the belly 🙁 Totally unexpected.

Hey all,
Paying the price for two meals out this week, up 2 pounds, so planning to fast two day out of the next three, see how it goes. They say quickly gained, quickly lost. Wish me luck. No regrets, my strict attitude is changing thanks to all your support. You are all doing a great job as a community and I wish you all a slim and healthy future. Off to walk the legs off the dogs before work.

Hey all, got odd reply which I accidentally deleted, definitely did not lose 2 stone in 2 months, it took 5 months. I was on a 1200 calorie diet before I started 5 : 2 in January. I am a one pound per week gal. Just correcting a wrong assumption, I really would be supergirl if I was losing at that rate.

yipyop:

I travel quite a bit and find it hard to do 5:2 because of the schedules and agendas.

I have found that skipping meals that are not on schedules or agendas works well. For instance, if I don’t have a business breakfast, I don’t eat breakfast. If I don’t have a lunch with clients, I don’t eat lunch.

I have found I don’t lose weight doing this, but I rarely gain.

Good Luck!

I am a woman of 53 years old. I started til diet in February. I am now within the last 2 weeks began to heat up and sweat. Have any of you experienced that?
I am from Denmark, so sorry about my English.
BR Janne

lizzie53 Just as a note….I have dramatically upped my fat intake when being “good” (reducing carbs) and that usually results in much better weight loss for me because I am much less hungry. I do a butter sauce over fish, eat lots more eggs, have learned to love avocados and nuts for a snack, and good old olives and olive oil. Butter on my veg (which makes all veges a lot more attractive), hollandaise on my broccoli. I use full fat yogurt and full fat ricotta. And I love it. I lost 23 lbs 2 years ago doing that with low carb. But low carb is grim as PreciousBooBoo commented. Miss the pizza, pasta and just bread with jam. So looking to 5:2 to be a better balance for me. But fear not the higher fat. You may end up loving it. I hope so. I wish the best for you.

Wow! This place is busy!
Hello to all my old friends and to the new.

Boo-I’m fine, just too tired to post– new job taking its toll. I also need to say hi to Nika, Toms, Speedy… the list goes on.

Funny about the shoes…I guess that old saying about being able to buy shoes and bags, no matter what your size, needs to be revised! 😉

I finally got a copy of fast exercise and was pumped to start, but my treadmill won’t go! I’m just about to restart 5:2 in a more serious way, but I plan to wait until my schedule is back to normal. Still holding 142-143.
About the fat, not that I’m trying to up it, or even lower it, for that matter, but have you looked at food labels lately? Calories from fat blew me away. I think I probably get way more than I think.

Boo- look up ashwagandha, for sleep, but buyer beware…I don’t know much about it.

xxP

Good morning all LOCAs! I have been reading the posts for some time and now dipping my toe into this pond for the first time.
I am 67 + 11/12 and have been in this age group for >15 years.
Despite Dr’s advice I opted for weight training instead of HRT because my meno symptoms not devastating and was more worried about osteoporosis. Still do that with PT (ensures good technique and no injuries – especially important for our age group) for 30′ weekly, which also doubles as a HIIT session. I do two more HIITs most week on a rower at home (3x 20s full-on then 40s recovery) With warm up and cool down takes about 10-12 minutes.
My BMI is an appalling 32 (used to be sooo fit and skinny 20 years ago) due mainly to not coping well with some difficult times so had about 30kg to lose when I went back to work at the end of January after long summer break (I’m in Australia). In just over 6 weeks I have lost 3.8 kg and 5cm from my waist in 4 weeks (didn’t start that measurement until mid-Feb).
I had my second arthritic knee replaced at the end of August so am now enjoying pain-free walking for the first time in about 20 years!
It’s so encouraging and empowering to read all your experiences and am looking forward to joining you on this new life-journey.
I prefer the acronym WOL rather that WOE because that sounds a bit grim.
My fast days are Mondays and Wednesdays (while at work) when I have a small breakfast of water-only porridge and black unsweetened tea, a stock cube ‘soup’ lunch, mainly to deal with the occasional craving for something salty, and a simple evening meal like a small grilled steak and salad, usually adding some potatoes for my husband who eats everything in sight and is as skinny as!
Keep up the good work everyone.

Today is a better day. I managed the 3 fast days but as you could tell from my last post, not without bodies littering my path! It was worth the suffering though as I managed to make a buffer zone for the weekend (granddaughter’s birthday party tomorrow).
To yipyop: I have realised that I will need to do some serious research to do the Ketogenic diet correctly. I have obtained contact details for dieticians who specialise in this field, with particular reference to cancer. They are all in the USA but they might have contacts in Aus.
To PBB, thank you again for your support. It really does make a difference. I can’t wait to get my computer up and running in the morning to see what everybody has been up to!
To Luvtcook, I agree with you. I have found that I as I have aged, carbs have become the enemy. But like you, sometimes I just crave a slice of bread (my husband bakes all our bread) or cake. Oh and luscious summer fruits! Fruit is one food that spikes my weight almost immediately. I have to be real careful with that.
To all you lovely ladies, have a truly blessed weekend.

lizzie53 – well done on navigating the fast days, it’s great to have somewhere neutral to vent.

Applecrisp – no wonder both you & your doctor are happy, it’s a good result. I’m going to take my latest test results to my GP and question him about my thyroid results. The grandmother I inherited the endocrine problem from had an underactive thyroid as well.

PBB – I hope the weight loss fairy visited properly for you!

Myself, I’m still plodding along. Early last week the scales dropped another 0.9kg (so a total of 1.8kg since 27 December). Before I got the chance to celebrate I got 4kg of hormone bloat, only 2 of which has gone so far. So tiresome and you think I’d be used to it after 35+ years. But what can I do but shake my fist at genetics, take my medications, and keep on 4:3 (found ADF to hard to stick with).

Hello ply24mp and friends(feels right saying that),
Last nights blues have gone and so has the 2 lb I gained. Even though I knew I was panicking I couldn’t drag myself up from the mire. Thankyou for your support and I am now back on track and determined to reach my weekly ( one pound off) goal by Sunday. Only 3/4 lb to lose so I should make it. I find having that weekly goal helps me to focus. Originally I was planning to loose 2 lb per week but it just didn’t work for me even when I tried 4: 3. I find I am getting less strict as each week passes, more fun but less productive. Clothes and shoes baggy but thankfully not my knickers. Bust remains very full, odd I thought that would go first, could afford to lose a goodly amount of that, heresy I know but I have been stuck with these mamas my entire adult life. Off to visit a farm today, baby lambs and all, speak later.

to Jojo58: NickyF is right ….its a WOL not a sprint, take the “long view” a 2 lb increase is a blip and you caught it in time. You have already done the most significant thing and not thrown in the towel and just let one tiny blip turn into a full blown slide. I did the full blown slide just putting off and putting off getting back on the plan, and now am re-losing all the same weight I took off 2 years ago. Pat yourself on the back!

To Aria: congrats on the weight loss and Applecrisp: wow! 8 lbs and after a vacation. How did you manage that one and with eating out etc! And you ARE lucky to have such a supportive MD. Sounds like you found a winner.

Janne: a warm welcome to you. Yes, a think most of us have gone through the “heat up and swell” stage. It gets better. When your hormones are in flux, you will be all over the place. Do drink lots of water, it seems to make your body flush any excesses ….and it is cooling as well.

Speedy: so sorry your are dealing with kidney stones. No fun and its a killer for WOE. Hope you MD in training can be of help.

NickyF: isn’t it great to be back to being able to walk without so much pain. That will be a big boost to your health and weight management. You must be so pleased with that.

Must be off (actually do my walk) so a quick hi to Piper, Ply24mp, Freefalling…..have a lovely weekend gals. We have a brief pocket of decent weather in DC this weekend before more snow predicted for TUES. Will this winter NEVER end. UGH.

Hello everyone. This is my first post. Ever. On any site. But you ladies have inspired me!

I read the book and tried my first fast day yesterday. Everything went very well until late at night. There was an open bottle of wine, a package of sliced sausage, a tiny bit of cheese. Basically, I blew it. So I’m planning to start again on Monday when there will be no goodies in the house to tempt me..

Here’s the problem: I’m 5 feet tall (5 feet short?) and 64 years old. Need to lose 20 lbs to get down to where I look and feel good. I used all the calculators at the front of this site and found the to MAINTAIN my current chubbiness I must eat 1147 calories. So a quarter of that equals 286.75 calories on fast days. Has anyone gone below the suggested 500 calories? I don’t want to mess this up. Please, please help.

Oh wow, Amberroseau thank you so much for posting.
It’s really cheered me up.
I’m only just under 50 bmi as well. It used to be a bit higher before I lost 17 kilos with 5:2 at the end of last year.
I’ve had a period of not being very brave so this is my opportunity to get back into it!
I hope you are feeling better now after last week. Hope you don’t have to have any more things done. I’m also nervous as I think I’ll cry as well – but I guess they are used to it – and really it doesn’t matter does it?

With kidney stones the easiest procedure is to have them zapped by a sound beam from outside your body but the urologist said I was too short for that! He meant of course that although I am under the weight limit for that, because I am 5 foot 2, at my weight I am too round and that procedure wouldn’t work for me. Too much fat to get through. Hence this slightly more invasive way. Another very good reason to get my weight down asap after this.

Thanks again. 🙂 Wishing you all the best.

NickyF congrats on pain free walking, a long walk can be such a joy. Here in Iowa we are finally ready to enjoy the outdoors. My new goal is walking at least 5 times a week. Speedy, glad you are getting relief. Pain is no fun and kidney stones are about the worst, my friend has them.

LuvTcook, I am happy with my dr. and you helped with my travelling anxiety a lot. At my sisters’ we did eat out a lot but I tried not to overeat and I was more active than normal. They are “thin eaters” in that they eat healthy and the right portions. I tend to indulge myself too much. I actually like junk food – potato crisps and cake or cookies. I like some fast food too. What I have to do is buy small, single use treats and not have cupboard filled with goodies. But I make no excuses for my love of twinkie snack cakes or” The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills” both have little substance.

I am fasting today and hpoe all goes well.
Have a great day.

Thank you so much LindyW. I know that’s the case and I’m sure everyone has these same fears. It’s also a very common procedure so I am trying to keep my fears in check. xx

I have another question. If I mess up on a fast day, should I try it again the next day, or wait until my next scheduled fast day. I find if I keep trying day after day, I really get in a mess.

lwfama, I started fasting Jan. 2nd, before that I was inconsistant. This past week I tried to fast on monday and tuesday and could not do it. It may be partly due to taking a week off. Today I tried again and while it has not been a breeze it was much more doable.

I don’t think taking breaks from fasting is bad at all. Some fast days are fairly easy and some can be really hard. Just try not to set yourself up for failure. If it doesn’t feel right you might just wait until it will. This WOE is very flexible and that is part off it’s appeal. Good luck on your next fast day.

iwfama: have you ever hear the saying “perfection is the enemy of good”? meaning, you should count the food you did not eat and not fret over what you did eat. Everybody is so stressing over a bad end of day blow out instead of realizing they have already gone over 24 hours of fasting/minimal eating from counting back from the evening before. Yes, going to the next am breakfast would have been perfect, but hey….eating one meal at the end of the day is a lot better then the 3 meals plus snacks plus whatever else we all used to eat to get us to this place to start with. A 24 hour fast is pretty darn good. And honestly, a 100 snack if you are really hungry is not that bad. If I am starving a single scrambled egg with a warm cup of tea helps a lot.

It all a work in progress. My two cents: don’t make yourself nuts. Get a couple normal days under your belt and start over. Good luck.

@speedy – surgical staff & anaesthetists are great & used to dealing with all body types. When I got my gallbladder out last year, I didn’t have any nausea etc in reaction to going under. Yes my blood pressure dropped for an hour or 2, but that was partly cos my evol former g/b caused crazy hypertension that was being managed by 3 different medicines!

Luckily I got an afternoon call saying could I be there at 6am the next day as they’d had a cancellation and could fit me in a month early. Luckily cos it meant I didn’t have time to worry or fret or get nervous. In fact I was joking with the anaesthetist team. As I was his first op of the day I couldn’t be put under until they sighted the surgeon and he was late. They did say it was a change to have no tears, but I was excited cos it meant I could get my life back after 5 months of waiting.

Hi Speedy,
Thank goodness that I have three small meals and lots of water. If you are on to something I hope everyone heeds the warning. I passed a kidney stone after my first child was born, it was truly excruciating, even compared to the recent child birth pain.
I will warn my daughter who is also on 5:2 and takes the one meal approach because she believes it’s better for your health. Is this true? Especially if what you suspect has any validity! Come on you Doctors and dietitians, give us some advice on this matter, it could be really important. There are a lot of people doing the starving approach. Is there a way of posing the question to Dr Moseley direct?

We used to say patients with gall stones we invariably ‘fair,fat and forty’. Gall stones are usually caused by an abundance of cholesterol in bile which is produced in the gall bladder. Diet rich in high fatty foods is only one cause. Lots of us LOACA probably do have some gall stones but luckily no symptoms, its when a small one gets stuck in a tube, or they irritate the lining of the gall bladder, problems start. Rapid weight loss also increases the chance of stones forming.
We know IF isn’t ‘rapid weight loss’.
We also know we should be drinking plenty on fast days.
Give a thought to the water you drink too, the area where I live has very hard water and there is a high ratio of all body stones to population. I use tap water for tea/coffee but only drink bottled water at other times.
@preciousbooboo I live near Robbie’s hometown and yes I met him and am a fan 😀
My husband had a kidney stone years ago. He had eaten the best part of 3lbs of strawberries during one day and our GP told us that strawberries could cause calcification. I am sure I had read that most berries incl. strawberries were good to eat if you had problems with arterial calcification – so maybe the doc was teasing my husband.