Jo, the subject of chooks!!

Defra is introducing a more targeted approach to the control of Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) from March 1st, focussed on areas of higher risk (water bodies with wildfowl populations, areas with high density commercial poultry production, etc). Which is what they should have done to begin with instead of their knee-jerk EVERYONE PANIC!! GET YOUR BIRDS INSIDE!!

So free range flocks in a lot of areas will be allowed out. Don’t be under the illusion though that all free range hens live a life happily scratting around in the sun. In reality, in a flock of several thousand birds, not all get out of the barn…

HPAI is a complex subject, and I think it’s a bit simplistic to think the authorities have it under control. They don’t!
Even keeping birds inside and away from wild birds (a convenient scapegoat for the evils of intensive livestock production) doesn’t necessarily protect them since pathogens outside get transferred in by other pathways.
And while low pathogenicity AI has existed in wild birds, HPAI was born in intensive poultry production, and then spread to wild birds who are now carriers. The wisdom of cooping up all our commercial poultry to protect them from disease, when the cooped up conditions are what breeds disease in the first place, are questionable.
It also appears to be the case (as with bovine TB) that intensive production units may be far more active spreading HPAI than wild birds. Large barns need air conditioning, and vent to the outside world, spreading anything inside the barn liberally into the outside world where it falls into water, onto insects, birds, other wildlife, domestic pets, people outside, etc who can then carry pathogens far and wide. And movement of livestock between units spreads disease. Also all the waste from the floor of the barn has to be disposed of, generally to land, where it can leach to water/ come into contact with other wildlife etc.
And of course the poultry in commercial production will be more susceptible to disease because they are babies with under-developed immune systems. The bird on your table may not be much over 6-8 weeks old, and the hen that laid your egg will be maximum 50-70 weeks old.

Intensive livestock production has opened Pandora’s Box.

😳 😳 😳 ROFL

No problem with eggs or anything else fortunately Jo. Cast iron stomach – or very good gut bio, having been brought up on milk from the cowshed, fruit and veggies from the orchard and garden. There was no fast foods in those days. The treat was fresh bread that was delivered by the mail van.

Heroine? Spare my blushes. I started from a much lower weight, so my journey has been considerably easier than your valiant struggle. Not sure how long the red hair will last. Maybe one more cycle.

Jo, it was an unexpectedly pleasant day today. I was out in the garden planting and weeding. There was a shower when OH was cooking the barbeque, but that’s what happens. And tomorrow will be great for the Round the Bays run/walk (no prizes to guess which I am taking part in 🙂 ) Son didn’t enjoy the kefir, complained about the bitter aftertaste so obviously work to be done there…

Zzzzz time.

Good morning,
I had a great lunch yesterday with the gals. The food was exlkente and the view priceless.
Sipping on my coffee and thinking about all my missteps this week. I really didn’t achieve anything this week.
Congratulations Jo! It pays to be determined 🥑.Also I had no idea I had food poison.
Barata I know many people who doesn’t like kefir. It also has a different smell. At every your son will appreciate a fruit smoothie then.
Well let me keep going 🌺
See you later.

Jo, your dogs have been looked after by someone else who I doubt walked them as far or as often as you do and they are probably both feeling it now that you are home. I’m not surprised they are acting lethargically, they must be knackered!
The vet has said there is nothing wrong with them apart from old age so you need to take his advice and give them less exercise as it is obviously too much for them unlike their owner 🙂

I am giving up meat for Lent only purely as a way of expanding the foods I eat and my vegetarian cooking repertoire. I have no intention of becoming a vegetarian.

You know I love cooking but that came out of the fact that I live to eat and decided that I could cook really good food much cheaper than going out for dinner. I get a great deal of satisfaction out of sitting down to a well cooked and interesting meal and the process of preparing and cooking is both relaxing and enjoyable.

No sign of your daughter, Jo, but given there were over 14,000 people participating, probably not surprising. Overcast and a slight drizzle as we walked the 6.5 km, so that was good, then the sun came out and 24 degrees. Town was gridlocked so it took longer to get back in than it took to walk out. Next year I will avail myself of the public transport.

Then another barbeque. Love summer for these. 🙂

Well done, Jo. 🙂

It was great – just a shame the return took so long. My feet are not happy.

Well the last week of my study of one with Zero Carb is upon me and it is time for some number crunching for those who are interested using my TDEE of 1857 calories I have not gone close to consuming that on any given day average 1300-1500 calories. If we agree on moderate protein somewhere between 80-100g per day following the Phinney and Volek model I have stayed well under in general terms between 60g-70g of protein a day. Which is a good deal higher than what
Most official nutrition organizations recommend a fairly modest protein intake. The DRI (Dietary Reference Intake) is 0.8 grams of protein per kilogram of body weight, or 0.36 grams per pound. This amounts to: 56 grams per day for the average sedentary man.
And fat 155g but has been around the 90-100g mark
Carbohydrates 0.
The fat loss was 400 grams for the week and total 3 week fat loss 2.4kg.
http://www.diagnosisdiet.com/all-meat-diets/
Fascinating read this one IMO
Peace RT

Morning/evening all,

When we undertake a long fast weight the number on the scales is usually very pleasing but we all know that it is not a true measure of fat loss but simply what we weigh with a virtually empty digestive tract. It is something that many either don’t understand or forget in the euphoria of seeing a sizeable loss at the end of the fast.
Last time I undertook a long fast (4 days) and then started eating again I lost 6lbs and gained 3 after eating again and even that doesn’t add up as my TDEE is less than 2000 calories. I’ve come to the conclusion that if our body is burning fat as a primary source of energy it is more effective for weight loss than when using glucose. I guess that is why Atkins was so effective but unfortunately it didn’t lend itself to enabling people to change their eating habits just like so many other diets.

This is my opinion and I have no scientific evidence to support it so any lurkers please withhold the lecture as I don’t need it thanks 🙂

Barata, do you think that you and OH are both eating too much on non FDs? Maybe you should try a calorie counting exercise.

It is a lovely mild and sunny day here. My first daffodil has bloomed and it is one of the miniatures in my kitchen window box so I can see it every time I go into the room 🙂

The daily weigh-in hasn’t been fun but it has made me realise I really need to take more care on non FDs. Having said that, I forgot to weigh this morning 😖
Never mind, tomorrow will do.

FD today, I’ve had my kefir and that is it until dinner time.

Have a good one everybody 😜

RT I just read your link, indeed a fascinating read. So you are channelling your inner Eskimo or Sioux? You would look good in fur! Maybe one of the main things we need to remember is UNPROCESSED…whatever the food group, eat it as mother nature provided it. I do like my meat cooked a bit though!

Amazon how lovely to have daffodils flowering! We are coming to the end of Summer and I am picking belladonna lillies to perfume the house, am not looking forward to the cold…

When I first started 5:2 I lost 42lbs/19kilos in 6 months. I didn’t count calories on non FDs and I only weighed myself once a week. It was easy, but since then it has been much harder. After re-gaining 18lbs I started again which is when I found this website and I lost 2lbs per week for 14 weeks before going on holiday.
That was over 2 years ago and since then I’ve lost, gained, lost, gained, lost, gained despite continuing to fast. It is definitely harder in the longterm (and that includes maintenance) and having lost 68lbs/31kilos by May 2015, I was receiving so many compliments that I almost lost sight of the fact that I wasn’t at goal yet. Personal circumstances have also taken their toll but I feel that I’ve wasted the past 15 months going round in circles and am determined that it has to stop now and that I get to goal in the next few months. I am only a few lbs above my lowest but it feels like so much more and it is very frustrating.
I’ve gone back to what I was doing when I joined this thread and am hoping that I’ll finally start to see some results and get past my previous low. I’ve set myself a goal of losing 14lbs/6kilos by Easter.

Wish me luck because I sure need it!

I’m trying not to be hard on myself but that is easier said than done. I’m a bit down in the dumps at the moment and in need of something to lift my spirits. A downward trend on the scales would be perfect!

HCB, RT doesn’t need to check what is happening as our bodies are very sophisticated and choose to preserve muscle until fat stores are running on empty so it is very unlikely that he isn’t burning fat.

I hope you have a good week, I’ve had a fairly easy FD today as I’ve been fairly busy and I’m planning lots of things to keep me occupied and out of the fridge!

Sorry to hear that your knee and shoulder are sore, maybe it is early arthritis which can take a while to settle down.

I have arthritis in my hip which was diagnosed by my physiotherapist although I already knew that was the cause of the problem. He could have arranged an x-ray but there was little point as we both knew it was the correct diagnosis.
Osteo arthritis affects millions of people the world over and the best way to deal with it is lose weight, build strong muscles to support the joints, keep moving and eat a healthy diet, and that advice is appropriate for so many health/fitness issues.

If you start exercising after not having done so previously/for a while or increase the amount/intensity of exercise it can cause inflammation but it does settle down.
Swimming is an excellent way to improve mobility and flexibility and will also build up muscle strength without putting too much stress on joints.

I prefer not to take medication but use heat or ice packs depending on the situation. I also use topical anti inflammatory gels or patches which help the inflammation to settle.

Morning/evening all,

Barata, not sure who suggested that a yearly one week fast can achieve something that is defying medical science. I think a very large pinch of salt needs to be taken with that one.

If you are fit and well and have not changed anything then too much food has to be the answer. Do you eat on FDs, maybe you could start by making them water only and see if it helps.

We’ve had rain overnight and it is very mild again but overcast and miserable looking ☹

Another FD today and I’m off to the gym this morning which will keep me occupied for a few hours.

Have a good one everybody 😜

I don’t eat additional sugar, Jo, and eat fairly healthily. No cake, biscuits, icecream. Perhaps I need to give up my two remaining breakfasts?

Amazon, I have heard the suggestion of fasting and cancer from a couple of sources, but like you am interested in learning from facts, rather than mice. 🙂

Jo,

Wild birds, their nests and eggs are protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended). If the pigeons are actively nesting then you would be breaking the law by ‘moving’ them until nesting is finished (the young have fledged and left the nest and the nest has been abandoned).

There is a general licence which allows ‘authorised persons’ to remove feral roof nesting pigeons, but only for the purposes of preserving public health.

So I’m afraid you are stuck with the pigeons unless you break the law.

I suggest you take steps to stop the dogs getting access to the pigeon poo, and then in the autumn think about how you can deter the pigeons from nesting next year.

Sorry about your bowls defeat! You were slaughtered 😡

Hi Fast Trackers And Hello World (You All know Who You ARE) 😉
Nama thank you actually I am channelling getting my Masai warrior on 😉 they are very lean looking characters who roam around wearing a red dress and topless that will do me 😆 just saying.
Always think of Bond Girls in big white fur long coats in the snow perhaps a Nama look after all you do live in Melbourne. 🙄
No I did not miss fruit at all it’s not even on my menu yfee though is the fruit bat in our house and as for veg no not really that said I am looking forward to that bowl of special yummy mashed goodness I suggested to Jojo yes achieving goal and ticking that box is doable with IF but staying where we want to be is not a given and that requires due diligence. I did not want a number that I have never been before so my journey has been returning to what I was when I got married 34 years ago I have not been over weight all my life I was 70kg when I was married and very lean and toned but then the wheels fell off in the naughty forties and nifty fifties and I let myself go never mind I am back where I want to be again now but I don’t loss my mind if I hover around the 73-74 mark I feel I am growing younger and stronger and this 4 week trial has been a great eye opener and dare I say it is no carb better than low carb perhaps so be your own evidence ?? Dr Andreas Eenfeldt the Diet Doctor of LCHF recommends staying under 20grams of carbs a day Professor Tim Noakes keep under 25grams of carbs a day Volek and Phinney under 50 grams of carbs a day but Zero Carbs and High fat Amazon may be the way to go for you give it a go why not?? And really you only have fat to lose now I found the whole experience very straight forward and clearly you can mix it up with these 15 foods to start with
http://bembu.com/carb-free-foods
You don’t need luck when you have ability because you’re already a successful faster. That final 14lbs by Easter which BTW is April 16 2107 is doable but if the plateau is not moving then we need to implement some new weapons into the artillery so we have the IF and fasting we have CR on fast days SO can you do a zero calorie fast day? Can you do 23/1 daily or Eat Stop Eat? Can you do Zero Carb I believe in you let’s get our mojo back and get losing. !!! So can we fix it YES WE CAN. !!!
“The less you eat the more you lose”
Peace RT

RT,

Thanks for all the ideas and encouragement. I know that my problem is non-compliance on non FDs so I have decided to count calories every day for a while which is tedious but necessary.
I can’t do low/zero carb high fat as my gut cannot cope with it. When I did Atkins I lost weight but was unwell for most of the time and suffered a lot with cramps and stomach pain so it isn’t something I want to re-visit.

I am determined to lose 14lbs by Easter. WILL do it!

Hi Jo,

I know you’re an animal lover, so I wasn’t fretting about the pigeons, just making sure you were aware of the law! Ignorance is no defence in law, so didn’t want you falling foul of it 😀

Do you still use your kettlebell? I’ve been wondering whether to get one for home HIIT upper body workouts. Would you recommend one?