Paint the walls black…!
This topic contains 7,125 replies, has 64 voices, and was last updated by Barata 8 months, 4 weeks ago.
I’m not selling anything, but if anyone is interested in the science behind how I have lost four kgs, and am getting near goal, I am now on my second Master Class of Optimising Nutrition: https://optimisingnutrition.com. I will have to move down a jeans size shortly – yay!
Well done Barata!
The weekend has come round mighty fast. I’ve no idea where the week went 🤔
I had a lovely time out with my best friend yesterday and am hoping to continue to make the most of this wonderful weather. Temperatures are due to rise up to 29C on Monday with lots of sunshine.
I sat up until the early hours watching tennis so wasn’t up until after 9am this morning and I’ve kept busy all day making it easy to stick to my LCHF regime.
I decided to take Michael Mosley’s advice regarding taking a multivitamin if undertaking a sustained period of time on 800 calories. I opened the bottle this morning to discover they are huge, 2cms long.
Maybe they are a meal replacement 😆
Have a good weekend everybody 🤪
Congrats Barata on finally finding something that works! You must be thrilled. How long did it take you to lose 4kg?
Amazon, those multivitamins sound positively dangerous! Don’t choke!
The weather is forecast to be good here too next week, which is fortuitous as I will be on leave 😁 I think I am coming round to the idea of at least 3 consecutive days on one low cal meal a day. With good weather and plenty to do in the garden, and some long walks, it should be a breeze 🤣 With a following wind… and my fingers crossed…
Happy,
I began this regime having a small snack of no more than 150 calories when I first get hungry and a small dinner later on but I’ve changed it to something less calorific such as an apple in order to have a more substantial meal so I’m feeling really full and less likely to snack.
Well done for picking Indian Summer to be on leave 🤪
Amazon,
I have to book my leave at least 4 weeks in advance these days, so I’m quite astounded that I managed by chance to hit the heat wave in August (the only dry week we had that month!) and this week. Maybe there is a god after all…. 😂
In an alternate reality, I would attempt a 3 day water fast this week. But as It I have planned several days of OMAD 500 cal or under meals which, with running, long walks and sone very strenuous gardening, should hopefully see me a bit lighter by the end of the week. I just need to get past about 10am, and if I haven’t caved by then, I’m usually OK for the day!
I am planning on making a Christmas cake this week. I think not on a fast day!
It’s very hot here today and not a breath of wind, too hot for me to walk anywhere or even sit outside.
Today has been yet another day of damage limitation after failing to stick to the plan over the weekend, it’s like Groundhog Day 😬
I thought about food free fasting for a nanosecond but as I can’t manage to stick to 800 it’s not going to happen.
Having said that I’ve stuck to 800 today 🤔
I don’t think about Christmas until mid October at the earliest and this year I don’t want to think about it at all. I was hoping to be somewhere enjoying a holiday but it doesn’t look likely and I am not in the right frame of mind to consider the alternatives.
Maybe I should consider one of those expensive Swiss clinics where you pay a small fortune for them not to feed you for 10 days……….. 🤪
Funny you should say that! I read an article several years ago about the Buchinger Welhelmi Clinic at Lake Constance. I have to admit I am tempted, perhaps for my 60th birthday!
I’m only thinking about Christmas now as I have a week off. The cake will be for Dad, who I’ve not seen this year (facetime several times a week not counted!), and I’m not sure when I’ll get to see him. But at least the cake and mince pies will be ready to go whenever that is!
Was it by by Jeannette Winterson writing about her experience at the Buchinger Wilhemi? She went as she had been diagnosed with raised cholesterol.
It was very interesting and sounded like an excellent way to “reboot” one’s system but I doubt I could afford it
Today has been passed by doing nothing much other than my usual exercises and watching tennis with a pause to make an omelette.
I would be a very successful hermit………
Yes, I couldn’t remember, but you’re right. It was her! I did look at prices, out of interest, along the lines of an expensive holiday I seem to remember… but without the excess food and alcohol. I think it appeals because its probably the only way I’d ever manage to experience prolonged fasting without being ill 😂
Actually today has gone well though. Lots of activity and exercise and a light meal. Fingers crossed I can repeat it tomorrow.
We managed a no food day yesterday while travelling through one of the wine growing regions of our state. We New South Welshmen are banned from entering other states. Even with only 4 new cases yesterday, Qld regards us as a “hot spot”!
We checked out historic villages, drove up (climbed 😉) the highest mountain between Sydney and Perth and took a bushwalk amongst its alpine gums. We stayed to photograph the sunset, despite the 8 deg and cold wind. 🙂
We took note of many vineyards and restaurants as we passed, but, as it was a Monday, most were closed, so no temptation.
Interesting Happy, I often do mass cooking on a fast day. I usually feel, by the end, that I have eaten!!!
Another day of wandering around vineyards and goldfields today. Everything looks fabulous. It’s early spring, the grass is green, the paddocks are full of lambs and the blossoms are on trees.
Enjoy your week off, Happy.
P,
That sounds lovely! A welcome break, and a bit of freedom, after long months at home.
We’ve got another lovely day forecast here, mid 20s. I will be in the garden again for some of the time, cutting down the meadow round the pond. It’s about 10m x 6m, so no mean feat with a pair of hand shears!
I’m also hoping to take my sewing machine in for service/ repair. That will be a 40 mile round trip, but handily the shop is near to my closest tetrapak recycling point so I ca get rid of the carbootfull of recycling I’ve been carrying round now for several months! The joys of living in rural Cumbria….nothing is accessible or convenient 🤣
I’m feeling energised and positive about fast day number 2, but then it is only 8am…
Barata,
I had a look at the optimising nutrition website. It’s sounds interesting. Can you tell us a bit more about it? How it works? What you’ve been eating and when? How long it took you to lose 4kg?
Morning/evening all,
Another beautiful morning here.
I’m venturing out on the tube today in order to get my hair cut and do a few other things that require a trip to non food shops. I can’t say I’m filled with enthusiasm as I’ve never been fond of shopping and in the current climate I’m even less so.
Happy,
There’s a bag of used water filters sitting by the front door growing roots.
I arranged to meet a friend last week and planned to drop them off in a shop on the way to where we were meeting.
I got off the bus outside the shop and only them realised the filters were still sitting by the front door 😆
I’m aiming to try again today………..
Purple,
Your day sounds wonderful.
Have a good one everybody 🤪
Amazon,
I have a tub of old batteries by the front door that I am incapable of picking up when I leave the house, despite the fact that the supermarket does battery recycling…. but I now have a bag of books in the car, having found that the book bank at the supermarket recycling point has disappeared! My car looks like the inside of a hoarders house….
I hope your trip out isn’t too traumatic today! Shopping isn’t my thing either.
Oooo, Amazon, something exciting as a haircut? Asymmetric? Shaved? Dyed pink? ☺😉
I’m glad your weather is holding Happy. Free time to get things done is so precious!
I, too, have a stack of recyclables waiting! Our supermarket takes soft plastic and the Council takes electronic things, but they are still waiting!
The weather out here is freezing overnight and warm and sunny during the day. We checked out the site of Australia’s first gold rush (1851) today. It has a lovely little creek tumbling over rocks, fringed by trees. On the banks are tunnels you can enter with a torch, dug out of the hard volcanic rock to find the gold bearing quartz. The surrounding hills are covered in scrubby, spindly gums. Very dry, with little tracks everywhere where diggers traversed the country, erected their tents and generally worked hard for not much reward.
In the afternoon, we checked out some wineries, and filled the boot of the car with wine! This first venture out into the new COVID world is good. We choose outdoor venues and every business has been very thorough following the guidelines. Very reassuring!
Room service dinner, eaten on a terrace was another good option. It can be done. Just takes planning. 🙂
Purple,
I had my hair restyled a couple of months ago after not having it cut since January and it had just begun to lose it’s shape so I went for a trim.
I went to Richmond and discovered the high street department store is closing down on Sunday. It’s been struggling for several years and I think lockdown was the final straw.
The good news is I got what I wanted with a 20% discount.
I’m looking forward to getting out of London next week and getting some fresh country air.
P,
It sounds like you’re having an interesting trip….and the wine is obviously a bonus 😉
And you’re benefiting from a change of scenery too.
Amazon, sounds like you had a productive shopping trip. Shame about the store closing, you wonder how many will survive the double whammy of covid and Brexit…..
After 2 lovely days in the mid 20s, the temperature has dropped back into the mid teens today. So the shorts that I had put away, and then got out, are now going away again, I suspect until this time until next year. When hopefully they will be a bit looser 🤣
Having done B2B fasts, I’m aiming to make today a third. I’ve got to go out this morning, so will hopefully get over my mid morning urge to eat!
And tomorrow I will be out for most of the day as I am taking my car in for service and then mooching in town. I am looking forward to a coffee in town, but I’m very rarely tempted by food while I’m out and about, so tomorrow should be another low cal day too.
I know I won’t lose a significant amount of weight this week, but if I could get a reset on appetite, portion control and satiety I’d be happy!
It sounds like a few post-it notes reminding you of recycling… OH was going to the local shops yesterday as I hosted a U3A committee meeting, intended to take our recycling – yeah, right 🙁 I have found the way to get him into the garden – take the chainsaw out and start pruning the fruit trees. Enter OH, attacks a few branches, stands around saying what next (when I have to talk to the trees, get understand what is needed to get the balance right, remember this is my first year), then puts the chainsaw away! Oh, well, we have had a chat, and tomorrow will be another day. 🙂
Happy, Optimising Nutrition is the baby of Marty Kendall (Gold Coast, Aus) and Alex Zotov (Texas). Marty’s wife has T1D, and he has been on a mission over the last few years to see if there is an eating plan that would help her reduce the need for medication, and stabilise her system. Marty is an engineer. I’m not sure where Alex came in. Their focus has become on developing an eating plan covering as many micronutrients possible to reduce the body’s desire to eat more in order to get what it needs. Increased micronutrients increase satiety, reduce chasing of energy-dense foods that provide little in the way of nutrition. The masterclass that they run several times a year guides the participants to determine their current eating patterns, balance the macronutrients, and then focus on the micros, over six weeks. Half way through the current one, my second, and will probably do the next. Always learning. All I can suggest is, join the ON FB page, and research, as I have done.
They also have a plan that focuses on using blood glucose readings to determine optimal eating times. See their Data Driven Fasting FB group. I do recommend these.
The next size down in jeans is still a little snug! Wore them yesterday, but really not as comfortable as they could / will be.
Lovely to have a road-trip, P, to refresh the psyche.
Our daughter is trying to get out of her current relationship, which has turned viscous. Fortunately it’s not physically violent, but she never knows when things might change. And for a bloke to make an 11-year-old cry with his verbal attacks on the mother… We are trying to persuade her to come home. Yesterday she spoke to her employer, and the upshot was they would be happy for her to work remotely from here for a six-month trial, so I think she will be back before the end of the year. So pleased!!
Barata,
Fingers crossed your daughter comes ‘home’, it will be a relief to you once she’s away from her partner. Verbal abuse is domestic abuse. Even if the relationship doesn’t turn violent, it’s still incredibly damaging to the victim psychologically.
Well, here, it’s the end of my week off. The weather has been great and I’ve managed to tick off all sorts of things that needed doing from jobs in the garden, getting the car serviced, taking my sewing machine in for repair/ service (it seized in March ☹️). And I’ve read books and had plenty of fresh air and exercise.
I did 3 consecutive fasts Monday to Wednesday, but bailed out of a fourth on Thursday at lunchtime – having walked 10 miles in the morning I needed sustenance! As a result I weighed in this morning 1.5kg lighter than last Saturday. Hopefully I can build on that and turn it into a downward trend rather than just a temporary blip! At least it proves that I can still lose weight 😀
Anyway, time to do something with the day… have a good weekend all.
Hi
I managed to lock myself out of the thread and only just come back.
I will catch up and try not to lock myself out again.
I did my 2 extra weeks of self isolation and OH hasn’t caught anything, so certainly Covid free.
I am back on 4:3 fairly satisfactorily and walking 7k steps everyday. Of course not on the flat anymore as Wellington is hilly. It’s not that warm here.
I will catch up with the thread and get back.
xx Wiwi
Glad to know that you are fully cleared, Wi, and ready to resume your life! My brother and his wife get out of managed isolation tomorrow, having just had negative results for their day-12 Covid tests. 🙂
Happy, our daughter has decided to return. Being able to continue with her firm (which really values her – she’s the best money-earner for them!) is a great plus, and her partner has calmed down, now that he knows she’s going. And she is pandering to him, stoking his ego to reduce the risk of his tantrums. They are staying for grandson’s 12th birthday celebration next month, and some other school event that he wants to attend, then a quick flight from Brisbane and two weeks’ isolation for them before they arrive home. I say ‘home’, but of course daughter has never lived here. But home is where the family is, and where one is welcome. 🙂 And grandson is now looking forward to the move.
Well, having put my back out badly a couple of weeks ago, the disc has slipped back into position and I’m pain free and able to get to my feet again. Hoorah!
On the downside, fasting did not go do well while I was uncomfortable and feeling sorry for myself. I did manage 2 last week however, which at the moment are just seeing me maintaining rather than losing. Ah well, at least I’m not gaining!
Autumn is most definitely here and the days are getting too short for my liking. I have to resist the temptation to go to bed at 8 in the evening because its already dark 🤣
I guess Amazon will have been glued to the tennis, not sure about anyone else’s absences! Anyway, hope you’re all well!
So pleased to hear your back is on yhe mend, Happy. I think you can be forgiven for struggling with fasts when in pain.
Our weather has done the opposite, of course! We’ve had a stunning hot long weekend, with lots of swimming and lazing around the pool. Fasting was easy today with lots of grandchildren distractions and warm weather. Perfect timing for daylight saving to start ..long delightful evenings outside. 🙂
Hi everyone,
I went away to Herefordshire on 24th and came back on 29th.
I had a wonderful time but when I arrived, after taking my bags to my room and having coffee with my friends I stood up and when I put my weight on my right foot got an excruciating pain in my hip and was in acute pain for the rest of the day barely able to walk. We came to the conclusion it was due to sitting in the car for 3 hours and not moving.
Getting out of bed the next morning confirmed it was a back issue and although the sciatica had gone and I could walk properly I was still in a lot of pain. I also realised my back had been stiff for a few days and I had blamed it on my hip and not recognised the signs.
My friend was great, providing extra cushions, hot water bottles and TLC and we still had a lovely time, lots of laughs, got out in the fresh air every day and overdosed on coffee, cake and wine.
We walked near Tintern old railway station where there is now a café and access to a walk along the Wye and for the fitter than I was at that point the possibility of walking all the way to Tintern which is on the list for next year.
We also went to one of our favourite gardens which is up for sale with it’s future uncertain. We usually visit in the
height of summer so it was a very different look with all the late bloomers in full flower and lots of tall grasses with beautiful seeds head wafting in the breeze and large shrubs in their glory with the low late summer sun shining through their leaves.
They have a little café which does really good coffee, cake and wonderful cheese scones.
On Sunday morning we drove into the City of Hereford and walked in the park across the river using one of the old beautiful footbridges, round the outside of the cathedral and along to a well established café/bar/restaurant.
There has been a lot of refurbishment and construction next to it and it is now part of the Hereford Left Bank Complex. For us that meant sitting on a new terrace overlooking the river a few yards from one of the old bridges drinking coffee and watching the world on a sunny Sunday morning.
We also spent a lot of time in my friends wonderful garden which has had a bountiful harvest this year.
I came home with eggs, homemade damson jam with damsons from their orchard where the chickens and ducks live, a huge bag of Bramley apples, a very large punnet of the sweetest tomatoes I’ve tasted for a very long time, and a plant.
My friend is an avid seed collector. She always has a small bag/envelope on her pocket for seed collecting and saves them from both her vegetable and flower gardens. She has a small nursery and sells plants to help with funds for the school where she works and I often benefit from extra plants.
I stopped at a farm shop on my way home and bought local veg, meat, milk, cheese etc.
I spent most of last week hobbling round the kitchen pickling onions, making chutney, mincemeat, Christmas puddings, chilli jam and my preserves cupboard which was almost empty is now well stocked.
I wasn’t pain free until this weekend so my thoughts have not been on fasting but today I’m raring to go and have a menu plan for the next week.
I’ve also bought the ingredients to make kimchi but am holding off until my new organic kefir grains which arrived on Saturday are up and running or the two ferments might compete/affect each other.
Happy,
Sorry to hear you’ve been suffering with a similar issue.
I have also been glued to the tennis and there is another week to go 😁
Purple,
It must be so nice for you to be at the start of lovely spring and summer weather.
Have a good one everybody 🤪
Purple,
When I arrived I was telling my friend about my hip issues and said how fortunate it was I’d not had any problems with my back for a long time.
Talk about famous last words 😬
We definitely made the most of it and I was better off there than being home alone as I was well looked after.
I forgot to mention that when I arrived to my great delight my goddaughter was there and I’ve not seen her for 2 years so it was great to catch up, and her big brother and his wife came to dinner on Sunday so I got to catch up with them too.
We kept our distance but I’ve erred on the side of caution and kept away from everyone since I’ve been home and we all remain well.
We are all realising, this year, how terribly important other people are. We are still very careful, despite having no COVID new cases for 10 days now, but I’m allowed to cuddle my grandkids. We always meet outside and we adults all keep our distance. All of us get tested if we feel at all unwell. It is very easy and quick, so worth the reassurance. P
Amazon,
What a lovely few days away you describe, despite your back. I’m very jealous, no idea when I’ll get away next or see friends (most of whom seem to be back in some form of lockdown).
I put my back out bending down doing nothing strenuous, but it was after a few days of being very active which I guess set it up to fail! I had a couple of very ropey days with it, but I think the Pilates muscle training has really helped with recovery time. Funnily enough, now mine is better the xOH has put his out. He however will hobble around for weeks because he won’t do exercises…or watch his posture and stop slouching over his computer… Typical man though, he won’t be told!
P,
Great that you can cuddle the grandkids. I haven’t hugged anyone since early March!! Well, cats and hens excepted obviously 🤣
Anyway, on that subject, I’m off for an early night with my kindle, memory foam mattress and winter duvet to give me a warm hug 😀
Happy,
It was the first time I’ve been anywhere since last November and it was wonderful to drive out of London and into the countryside to spend time with old friends in familiar surroundings.
Everyone was pleased to see me even the cat who climbed onto my lap for the first time ever 😍
I’ve not got the winter duvet on yet but it won’t be long.
Urgh, I’ve decided to join this thread to try to induce a bit of discipline into myself, and OH, of course. We’ve gone into restrictions in Flintshire and it’s as if I’ve been eating for Wales to compensate. I’m three pounds over top wriggle room. My talking scales shouted at me this morning.
Good see so any maintenance friends here 😄
Welcome, Polly. It will be easier just to follow one thread to chat with all my mates. We must get Carol here too. 🙂
Our country is back to level 1 now that we have no new community transmission for a while. Australia is inviting us in to some of the states, but without sufficient surety that there is no Covid in their community any travellers will have to pay for and submit to isolation on their return to NZ. Aus is not reciprocating, strangely, even though we are in a better position – all politics, of course.
I hope you are both recovering from your pains, Amazon and Happy.
My brother and his American wife have just returned (so gratefully!) from Florida, and after going through the necessary 14 days are happy to be here.
Hi Polly
Welcome.
I’m the other kiwi here.
Is the Tintern you talked about, Amazon, the subject of “Tintern Abbey”? I am happy to hear you got away for a few days. Things are not too easy. My daughter in London is in her last 2.5 months of pregnancy and is not going out. I wonder when I will ever see the baby, though even being in France would not lessen the problem much.
Happy, sorry to hear about your back problem and glad it’s getting better.
Purple, we are thinking of coming to Oz when the bubble opens up. I read that it was 30° today in Sydney. It’s not even 20° in Wellington. (No gloating Barata!)
I feel the same as your brother, Barata. Grateful to be here. I have been feeling a bit war worn after the 6 months in France.
My 4:3 went well until a few days ago. The problem is that now I am back in Wellington, my social life gets in the way.
Did you hear the one about Obama and Biden discussing Trump’s Covid?
Biden suggested they send a card saying “Stay positive”.
Apart from the fact my June trip to Tanzania has been rebooked for next year (and who knows if it’ll happen) I am not considering any travel outside the UK.
In my opinion the way to halt this virus is for everyone to stay put with the exception of people who’ve been stuck overseas and wish to return home.
None of us will expire from lack of a trip abroad but we vastly increase our risk by travelling overseas.
Love it, Wi! 🙂🙂🙂
And yes, we had a 3 day run of 30+ for our long weekend, then the cloud moved in for a top of 21 today. Still, most people were back at work, and the kids on holidays needed a break out of the sun. I had just moved all my sundresses into my wardrobe and put the coats away. Maybe too soon? 😐
I look forward to your visit. NSW borders are open to anyone but Victorians and non Kiwi foreigners 😉😉😉
Hi Amazon
I spent a while looking at Herefordshire on Google Earth and also reading about Tintern Abbey on Wiki, It’s a beautiful area. It’s good to spend time in green quiet places. I have been to Ross on Wye once on the way to Wales.
When this pandemic is over I promise myself a trip to that corner of the UK.
In the meantime NZ isn’t bad at all.
Fast day for me today, I think I will make soup for later,
xx Wiwi
Wi,
The Wye valley has been designated an area of outstanding natural beauty and attracts a lot of visitors.
My friend has been living in Herefordshire for over 30 years and I must have been there at least 50 times and over the years we’ve both seen much of the surrounding area and we still manage to find places we’ve not been to before.
We did a walk along the Wye and into Ross last year and it was only the second time we’d been there together, not because Ross on Wye isn’t nice but because there are so many options.
Wiwi , where in Wales were you heading? I’m originally from South Wales, but lived in the North for 50 years now! Yikes! We are just on the edge of the Clwydian Range, another area of outstanding natural beauty. And thankfully, it’s fairly undiscovered.
I’m looking forward to my facet session at 11 with our friends who are ‘stuck’. In NSW, having gone to help out babysitting while son and daughter-in-law revised for their exams in March. Cancelled of course.
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