Hello, Gang!

I’m so glad you reached your target and ‘won’ the necklace, Annette. What a lovely reward.

jzan, thanks for your encouragement re exercise. Exercising an hour a day – wow! What sort of exercise do you do? You sound much more of a ‘natural’ exerciser than I am. At school, I was terrible at sports and hated them. I have spent a lot of my adult life gradually discovering activities which I do enjoy: swimming; cycling; walking. NOTHING involving teamwork and/ or spherical objects!!

jzan, Just a thought about your hunger levels on non FDs. Have you set your activity level correctly when calculating your TDEE? Maybe, unlike most people (!), you are actually UNDERestimating how active you are? This just came to mind because people have been posting about the subject recently on another thread.

Phyllis, good to be getting to know you, too. Hope you have a good week.

Lori, hope you enjoyed the golf tourno. I bet T. Woods et al wouldn’t play with a poorly finger! Hope the FD goes well on tues. I’m sure you of all people will catch that flight. Shame you can’t set your ‘furry alarm’ an hour earlier than usual! (If she is as contrary as mine, she would wake up an hour later on that particular day.)

This morning, due to feeling so motivated (yay!) and because one of my FDs this week was well over 500, I decided to do another fast today. It has been fine. I discovered a new way with veg. I grilled some red peppers to add to a raw veg salad but then decided to lightly grill everything else as well, so I chucked my red onion, courgette sticks and carrot sticks under the grill. I had 1 boiled beetroot which I afterwards added to the mix (or should I call it a ‘medley?!) I sloshed lots of balsamic vinegar over it. I couldn’t make an oily dressing, as I used up my other cals on a small piece of fried lamb steak. In the winter, I often dry roast veg in the oven but this seems a good technique for warmer weather, when I won’t want the oven on.

All the best, Everybod!

Well the scale tells me I am up a pound, which is not a surprise but also makes me frustrated with myself. Stuck going to dinner tonight for a work event and trying not to freak out about it–successful fast day yesterday and planning to fast Tues/Th in addition.

@annette52, I have been experimenting with making my own hot chocolate. I am not down to zero added sugar but I am trying to enjoy the flavor of the cocoa (and coconut milk, which is lower calorie than whole milk and zero carbs!). I am convinced that the worst thing ever was the 1980s low fat-high carb diets. It is such a relief to eat real food instead of “fat free.”

Hi all, hope your week is off to a good start. I had a girls day out with my daughter yesterday. Did a bit of shopping, bought a blouse and some new knickers(Annette, another case of saggy knicker syndrome:-) )

I, too have discovered an appreciation for dark chocolate. I eat a small square almost every day. Have tried making hot chocolate using cocoa powder that turned out pretty good too.

Lori, hope you can enjoy your trip to Fla. despite the jitters. Where in Fla. are you going? We lived near Orlando for several years before moving home to Tenn. hope your cut is feeling better and healing nicely.

Fast day today, off to start preparations. Good wishes to all. Phyllis

Lori, so glad your finger is doing well. Natural remedies are really good. I use lavender oil for burns, works great. Enjoy you trip and cruse. Hope your fast day is progressing well, if not, tomorrow’s another day. 🙂 phyllis

Good news on the shrinking annette! The “Jeans of Truth” do not lie!

One more sleep and then I’m off on my big adventure. I think my body is gearing up for getting up early tomorrow as I woke up at 2:15 this morning! I must have had it in my mind. I did fall back into a fitful sleep, but finally got up at 4:15. I’m not going to boot camp this morning, so I have a leisurely start to my day. Sipping coffee and thinking about what I’ve packed and what I may have forgotten.

I’ll “see” you all the last week of April!

Hi Annette, so glad you had fun with your friends even if the food wasn’t so good. So glad you have had your dresses altered so that you enjoy wearing them. I have a suit that I have been trying to decide if I should get altered, or donate. I love it, it looks good, but I only wear it on very rare occasions as I don’t get dressed up often. I should probably pass it on to someone who would get more wear out of it.

I am looking for dresses and skirts for summer. I love long flows dresses, but have to be careful of style. Too long or too full in the skirt and I tend to look like a Hobbit. 🙂 especially when walking along side my hubby who is almost 6’4″ tall. I’m 5’2″ .

Fast day for us today. Hope things are going well for you and all our fasting buddies. Phyllis

Hi Annette, don’t you just love that size 8??:-) I like it much better than the size 12. Next time your son asks about the skinny jeans, tell him it’s because you are getting skinny!!! Or better yet, next visit to the charity shops pick up a blouse that is very young and hip, maybe that you would never wear, and come out wearing it and watch his face. Should be fun.:-)
I think you shouldn’t worry about that pound either. At least you ate lots of goodies and enjoyed it. And it will soon be gone! I was surprised at myself getting so aggravated about that pound. Reminded me that I can get carried away and too focus on numbers if I’m not careful. So it was good for me. 🙂
I am going to try a couple of shift dresses. Actually I bought a couple last summer that are probably considered shifts. My problem is they are sleeveless and I need to find some crocheted jackets to wear over them to cover up my little ole lady arms. 🙂 plus they are both a beige/tan color, one with little flowers on it, and I REALLY need some color. But, they are linen which is great for our hot summers. Haven’t tried them on recently, so they may not fit. Think I might need to have a try on, closet clean today.
Jzan, a football player in drag!!!??? Oh, thank you so much for the giggle. I think we all have a love for some styles that we just can’t wear. I love 50’s style dresses with the full skirts and wide belts. Since I am a definite hourglass, with about an inch between the bottom of my rib cage and my hip bones, they just don’t work. 🙂 ah, well.
You are doing amazing well on your weight and inches lost!!!! Sorry you are starving on your fast day! Lots of water, perhaps a cup of broth? Chicken broth has about 5 calories a cup. Very satisfying for me. And as Annette says carrot sticks help too, with the crunch. Hand in there and remember tomorrow is a non fast day. 🙂
Wishing you both a great week!! Hugs, Phyllis

It’s a good thing I posted yesterday about how I need to rely on the tape measure instead of the scale, since the scale is still saying only 2 pounds in 3 weeks today *evil face*

Oh my goodness Annette, the sugar monster jumped on you good and proper didn’t it?? Some days are just like that! Hope the fast day helps scare that monster away. I think I may have found a way to help me with less sugar. Have you tried the bullet proof coffee? I tried it for the first time yesterday, then I did bullet proof tea this morning. I just added a couple of teaspoons of virgin coconut oil to my drinks and whipped it up in the blender. That meant I didn’t need milk and only put one teaspoon of sugar instead of two and a bit. The coconut oil is supposed to increase metabolism and decrease belly fat. So experiment number two started. Don’t know what would happen if you drank several cups a day, probably a lot of calories, but every little bit of sugar decrease is a good thing. 🙂

I will have to try the scarf idea. My arms are so saggy and wrinkly I don’t know if anything could distract from them, but it would be great to add some color with pretty scarves. Good for you on people noticing the new skinny you!! Good luck with your new training schedule, I am impressed.
Jzan , sorry your weight loss has slowed. Try not to get discouraged, keep measuring and remember that it is normal for loss to slow a bit after the first few weeks. You are doing really well, and I know it will pay off!!
Good luck with this weeks remaining fasts! Hugs, Phyllis

Annette, 20,000 steps!!! Wow!! Good for you. I would so love to attend one of your dancing get togethers. I always loved dancing, didn’t do a lot, but always wanted to. If I ever get well enough I’m going to give it a whirl.
Sorry your fast day got derailed, but the good thing is it can be a bad week and not derail the whole process. Hopeful that things get easier and no more headaches!

Only half a teaspoon of sugar? Sounds like you don’t need the bulletproof tea or coffee. The coconut oil is supposed to boost metabolism and energy, so I think I’ll try it for a while. Since I like a little coffee in my milk and sugar, I will especially use it for coffee as I don’t need milk and only a little sugar when I do. 🙂
Sending wishes for a great day. Hugs, Phyllis

Hello Annette, jzan, Phyllis and all other Fast Friends

I have had a touch of ‘blogger’s block’ the past few days; and was away last weekend, so I haven’t been contributing much. I have dropped in and read all your posts a couple of times: helpful as ever to hear about everyone else’s ups and downs.

It’s almost midnight here and as I have an early start tomoz, I’ll leave it there. I’ll call in again over the weekend and give you my peaks and troughs!

I hope everyone has a constructive weekend on their 5:2 journey. Keep faith in yourselves and the process.

‘La Badger’ 😉

Hello!

I have returned from my beach/cruise adventure! I had a wonderful time and managed to gain 5 lbs! I really thought it would be more than that! I’m hoping the vacation “fluff” goes away quickly.

I’ve had a successful fast day today. I was so busy at work that I didn’t have time to think about eating! I’m still very far behind at work, but I’ll keep chipping away at the pile!

Hope you are all well…I look forward to becoming an active member of this thread again!

Hello!

Great going, Lori. Hope you enjoy your social evening, Annette. I’m sure you’ll be back in the swing of your usual disciplined WOE before long.

My first FD of the week today. The weather is chilly and so am I! I have just had a lovely hot SOUP. I have put FD salads on the back burner – er, poor choice of metaphor. I’m being fairly relaxed about my calorie limit – think it will be around 540.

I’m aware I’ll need to squeeze in another FD this week. It will have to be Sat – unless, for the first time, I give B2B FDs a go and do tomorrow. Hmm, we’ll see.

Be happy!
BB

Annette, glad you enjoyed your evening. I know what you mean about seeing a friend you haven’t seen for awhile and noticing their decline in health. On my recent trip, I saw friends that I haven’t seen for 4+ years. I was sad to see that many of them are considerably heavier and less healthy than the last time we were all together. One of them commented that I was the only one who was smaller at this reunion! The saddest thing is their struggle to walk, and as you said, the shortness of breath. I have a bit to go to be where I want to be weight-wise, but I am so thankful that I have made it this far!

Off to boot camp in a 1/2 hr or so. Really would rather just sit here, but no, I will go and be glad I did when it’s over!

Have a happy Friday!