Hello Cinderella,
Sounds like your husband is doing well. Don’t worry about BMI-apparently it is a measure designed for populations not individuals. The key is in the waist-around the belly button-measurement. I find that taking a photo of my boy every 3/4 months when he comes to visit is an excellent way of ‘seeing’ where he is shrinking.

My boy is continuing to shrink and is very much a meat and veg man, who also likes fruit. I suspect that his gut biome is in tip top condition as he eats a wide range of fruit and vegetables. I like salad and prefer some raw veg but really like fruit, so hopefully my gut biome isn’t too bad, certainly much improved with considerably less sugar in my life.

I really wanted an Indian meal last night and if I had gone to the local restaurant for a take away, it would have been chicken-onion bhaji and a naan. It was very hot/sticky day so bought a ready meal from the supermarket which was mainly rice, a little bit of chicken in a lot of sauce. Result-woke up hungry. Like you cinderella, I feel tired when I have scoffed the wrong stuff too.

I am in the process of ditching many of my clothes. They either don’t fit/look good and there seems little point in keeping them. Funny, how on a number on a label seems to dictate joy or sadness. Quite a few of them where bought in charity shops, so back they will go. I have also had a little spend on more jolly trousers which I wear all of the time, I love them and they bring me joy.

Hello Everyone,

Back from a few days away to stay with my friend and her dogs in Devon, which was lovely and much cooler than here! I ate a cake on the train(took 2.5 hours) and then lunch was delayed. She has always been slim and now I know why, she shared a portion of prawn cocktail between 2 of us and then added a little bit of salad….and I wasn’t hungry. Dinner was pizza/garlic bread/beer and ice cream-but we only did that once!

Back home now in this heat and just seem to live off salad/fruit and fish/avocados. Planning to skip breakfast tomorrow and just keep going until lunch.

I have started running again but I am struggling in the heat and with sore hamstrings, so off for a sports massage tomorrow. I have all picture frames that I have painted today from orange pine to gloss black-just got to remember which picture fits in which one!

How is everyone getting on?

Hi Iona,
I have a half marathon planned in early September but struggling with injury. Trip to a sports massage yesterday so no running until Saturday and then just a couple of miles walk/run.

I do wish that it would be cooler and rain overnight though, I am finding the constant heat too much. I don’t have a car, so walk everywhere and am completely fed up with waking early as my bedroom is hot despite the fan and nipping out early before it gets hot.

I have just bought a load of bras in the sales. The boobs show no sign of getting any smaller and goodness the difference to the silhouette a good fitting bra makes!

Well done on the dress and enjoy the light packing. I went to stay with a friend in Devon for a few days and just took a cardigan which I needed as it got chilly in the evening. The rest of the packing was shorts/t-shirts.

Happy New Year Fast Friends!

My scales broke some time ago and I never replaced them. I have been struggling to fit into my trousers so out came the tape measure. Sad news there are 2 inches more of me at both my natural and actual(around the belly button)waist, plus 2 more inches on my hips and another on my thighs. I measured in the summer before the autumn term and the biscuits/puddings and treats on the way home from work.

This morning I have ditched breakfast and will see how the day goes as to when I will eat again. I have homemade vegetable soup in the freezer which I could have for lunch but I do need to get to the shops for real food.

The cakes/biscuits have been left out for the others to eat. I have put the other lovely things away for Easter. I am a sugar addict and I need to face the fact that this little piggy is 7 inches bigger!

How is everyone else?

Well, you two have done much better than me. I have had a clothes try on and those that don’t show a waist are fine. I can’t believe how I have packed on 2 inches on both my natural and actual waist since the summer, made from biscuits.

I have now done x2 fasts one of 21 hours and one of 22. Try it cinderalla, much easier than you think. I am back to eating real food most of the time and I do feel better. The real challenge is back to work tomorrow and those flippin biscuits.

Back to Pilates tomorrow and swing dance lessons on Tuesday, which is great fun. I am struggling with the running, I hate the cold/grey days. I shall just have to force myself out a couple of days after work as there is 4 weeks until a 10K.

The plan this week, is 2 skip breakfast for 2 days this week. I will have a look to see what is on offer tomorrow and then choose the days. Hope your cough improves Cinderella, your poor ribs.

Onwards and downwards fast friends.

It is tough, Iona.

I have been brilliant…not. Woke up to pitch black morning, sad light on while I eat breakfast. Walked to work and no tea until mid morning and no biscuit. Hurrah! Lunch was stew, a couple of teeny tiny potatoes and then a fruit crumble with custard( I had been marvellous all morning and it was cold and I was tired. After lunch, x2 biscuits dunked into the tea and then somehow x3 Christmas chocolates were eaten. Walking home I realised that I was very hungry/sweating. I managed to avoid stopping at any shops and stuffed a handful of walnuts in my mouth while I compiled a bowl of homemade muesli(oats/nuts/seeds) with copious amounts of yoghurt. I started to feel better as I was eating it but had a small banana and some almonds just to make sure.

Was it the chocolates that made me go hypo? I don’t suppose that they helped. Off out to Pilates now and glad to feel fine. Hopefully I will have a better day tomorrow..

Welcome Nileswimmer,
I have learned that the scales are a really poor indicator of success, instead look to a decreasing waist measurement. When I started the 5:2 I was religious with 500 calories for 2 fast days but I wasn’t looking at the rubbish that I was scoffing the other 5!The scales moved very slowly but I could see that my body shape was changing and how my clothes were fitting were a fantastic indicator that there was a change. I was struggling when I was hearing about all of these 2lb weekly losses which certainly wasn’t happening to me. There was a woman on the forum that said that she had lost 3 dress sizes but that the scales were not moving and that kept me going. My experience was that in the first 8 months I lost 26lb and 26 inches all over. I have made changes, given up sugar in my tea, stopped buying and hiding family packs of chocolate and then eating it all myself. Look at what you eat on a non fast day and see if there is a better choice that you could make, so small changes all add up.

My top tip would be to measure upper arms, thighs, hips, around the belly button, chest/bust once a week and try on your clothes and put the scales away for a month. A healthy waist for a man is 37 inches and a woman is 34 inches-make that your goal and leave the tyranny of the scales with the misery that they can bring.

I am very pleased to have helped you keep going. Don’t give up and remember that this is not a diet but a way of life and the biggest change is your mind set. Do pop in and let us know how you are getting on.

Hello Everyone,
Sorry not to have replied djdad, I have not been on this site for a while. A combination of training for a half marathon, struggling with the training and then very disappointed with the outcome. It turns out that I have arthritis in my foot which explains why I have found it so hard to get round the course at all.

The combination of hi carb food pre and post run with some serious sugar consumption and no fasting, has resulted in more inches on the body. I had been in denial about the tightness of the jeans or the struggle to get into some clothes but the tape measure has provided the proof.

I have decided to learn to sew, which has meant that the body has been measured and I am pretty fed up with the numbers there too. Although I still have a waist, I have rather less of one than I did before and more curves than I used to.

On the plus side, I know what to do to get back to where I used to be. I know that its back to the 5:2, that fasting for longer will trim the inches off and so back to re-read Jason Fung and The Obesity Myth.

I have found that skipping breakfast and lunch on a FD has been fine in the past, so that’s the plan for Monday. I will eat an evening meal on Sunday, skip breakfast and lunch on Monday and then have an evening meal. I find that I need to keep busy and distracted which is easy when I have a full list of jobs when I am home.

I have found djdad that picking a time frame for a loss has always resulted in disappointment. I did a trial one week and weighed myself every day and found that I could gain and lose 10lb in a day. As a result, the scales don’t hold any interest for me. I look towards my clothes, how the feel and look when I try them on. My focus is on my waist measurement (which has expanded by 2 inches!) The aim is for a man to have a waist of 37inches and a woman of 34 inches(around the belly button, not what the trousers say!). I know that if my waist has expanded then so too have the hips and the bust, but at least I am consistent.

Meals for me will be protein and either salad or vegetables or home made soup. Back to food that is simple, doesn’t come in a box/packet. I do love the sweet stuff, but I also know that after a week or two, I don’t miss it.

My plan is for the next 2 weeks to avoid the rubbish and do 2 longer fasts twice a week and then whip the tape measure out to see the proof that I am starting to shrink. Everything that I have read about managing arthritis points to a good and simple diet with rest, so it seems to be a win all round.

Off out for an afternoon of Lindy hop this afternoon. Dancing feeds my soul.

How is everyone getting on?

Hello Everyone,
I am back to the 5:2 after a summer of denial, but tight trousers don’t lie. I was also struggling to do up jackets too. I have started by ditching cakes/biscuits/sweets and my great favourite, ice cream. I managed 4 days without and was feeling very smug until I ate my final ice cream on that evening and then found myself looking for more sweet stuff. The next day I was scoffing biscuits like a mad woman and then had a flap jack on the next day. Result? I felt absolutely lousy and had to go to bed for a nap.

Lesson learned, so back in the groove this week, none of the sugar filled rubbish and x2 FD and I am sleeping so much better, eczema on my fingers has cleared up but , but most of all there is 2 inches less of me!!!

I am not aiming to lose another 26lb and 26 inches, but the sweet stuff has been creeping in and needs to stop. The plan is to measure the vital statistics once a week, not eat any of the nonsense and to keep to 2 FDs a week until Christmas, when I will see overall where I am.

Anyone going to join me?

Hello Everyone!
I am back in the groove. There has been some creeping denial that the rubbish has crept back in along with the increasing inches, but nothing like catching a glance of yourself when not wearing much for the scales to fall from the eyes.

I have never been very impressed with the use of scales or BMI. I don’t think that they are a useful measure and I have always found that the tape measure is far more accurate of the shrinking body. I actually don’t own any scales.

I have measured bust, under bust, natural waist, waist(around the belly button), hips, thighs, and calves. Now comparing where I was and where I am now certainly makes sobering reading, I have increased my bust and hips by 4 inches each for example!!

The other driver is that my psoriasis has flared up and also has the arthritis that I have in my thumb and foot. I know that that the psoriasis disappeared when I fasted and I am hoping that the arthritis may well calm down too.

My plan is to measure the body just once a week and to fast twice a week. I have found that shipping breakfast and lunch but then having an evening meal, is something that I can do more easily than having lunch.

I am planning beans on toast for tea because I have them in the cupboard and I know that it is very filling. I will then be more mindful for the other days. Sadly crisps, chocolate and cake have become a daily part of my diet, in the rather misguided notion that I it will calm the soul. Its not helping me feel good about myself and comfortable in my clothes.

I know this works, so just a case of keeping the mind and body busy until 6 pm when I will eat. I will drink tea with milk throughout the day and will not count any calories because I find it boring and all consuming.

Anyone with me?

Thanks Springer. How kind of you to comment.
I managed to get to lunchtime and then caved in to beans on toast, but it was lovely and I haven’t eaten any of the rubbish since the tape measure came out.

What I might try is to have lunch, but no evening meal and then skip breakfast, then eat lunch the following day. Its all a bit trial and error, getting back into the groove and also stuck at home most of the time trying to find things to do to fill the time.

I know that fasting helps not only to trim the inches and quell the psoriasis, but also to focus the mind on not eating rubbish. If it can also help to reduce the arthritis on my foot/ankle then that would be a real game changer for me.

So lovely to hear from you both!

Snedger-its my reaction to my metabolic age that I find fascinating. My goal has always been to be a fit and active older person. Sadly I can no longer run, I have arthritis in my foot now(slipped off a kerb and twisted my ankle several years ago) which I suspect didn’t help. Some days its really stiff and sore but I also know that if there was less of me, it would probably be better.

I have found that Covid anxiety has me running to the crisps and chocolate, there has been rather a lot of chocolate spread on toast when I have been sleeping badly.

My eldest son and I ran a half marathon together almost 18 months ago. We struggled round, my foot/ankle very painful before I knew what the problem was. His ankle also very painful. The finish line photos were very much a wake up call for him and that was the start of him changing what and how much he ate and the purchase of these scales. He has lost 50lb and his ankle is now longer a problem.

My youngest is trying to improve his fitness, so has started using the scales too. He made me stand on them yesterday and that was when I decided that I have to act now. I am going to be 60 in January and my metabolic age is 65. Hell of a shock. My aim is to get to my actual age, I hadn’t thought about trying to get less.

I haven’t been baking or drinking alcohol but there have been cakes, chocolates and crisps, regularly. Now its in inches, actually 20 more than there should be from the usual measurements that I take.

App sounds interesting. I look forward to hearing about your progress.

Iona72. Its tough isn’t it. I have 4 more inches on the bust, waist and hips! Its a bit of a car crash but then I also know that I can make a huge impact by fasting.

I have no idea how long it will take to claw back the years or reduce may fat %, so my progress tracker is going to be reducing inches for now with faith that positive changes will show.

I am going to skip breakfast again on Thursday and stay away from the rubbish. Can we keep in touch? I really value your encouragement and support.

Brilliant Iona72!

I have looked at my nemesis(ice cream, crisps and chocolate)in the shops and walked past, which has in turn ensured that I have bought good food that I enjoy. I keep thinking 65 as my metabolic age, which is really helping me stay on track. I haven’t eaten much today, so I am having a decent meal very soon. Skipping breakfast tomorrow, light lunch and a light evening meal should be another 16 hour fast.

I have skipped breakfast and lunch in the past but I think I will have a couple of weeks like this before I try one of those. They always result in a waist shrinkage.