Hi Wiwi!
I am still here, it is midnight and I have just finished some cooking that took longer than planned. We had a very busy weekend, a surprise 60th party Saturday nignt then a family lunch here Sun, for 10 plus grandaughter plus fur grandson – full house and lots of fun. Son and DIL then stayed a couple of nights as they live an hours drive away and this meant some baby free time for them and lots of hands-on cuddles etc for me. It is so lovely to have a little one in the house!

Also lots of stroller pushing up and down the neighbourhood hills and a very easy (distracted) fast on Monday. Undid the scones, jam and cream from Sunday! I dont know what I would do without fasting, I would probably have undone all my good work!

Last night I was craving cake, probably as a result of the carb fest on the weekend. So I decided to make one of those microwave ‘cake in a mug’ numbers all the keto sites talk about. Figured I could not do too much damage… It was disgusting. I followed the recipe exactly – butter, egg, almond and coconut flour, cocoa and splendour sweetener. 75 secs in the microwave. Good portion size, looked great, even a “cakey” texture. But the artificial sweetener was evil, I dont know how anyone can eat that stuff. Fixed the craving -yuk!

I hope everyone is ok, especially Tilly Jojo, your silence is worrying me. A sick elderley dog is not a good thing. Thinking of you.

Good to know you are out there RT and Nama.

Hope all in the UK are taking a BReak and not BRexit.
Sunny cool day in Wellington with the only noises around are from native Tuis and Kakas
(birdies).
An Up day for me and two fast days to follow.

xxWiwi

Morning/evening all,

I’m here, but it isn’t a good week for me for various reasons so I don’t have anything to say.

I’m still fasting though 🙂

Have a good one everybody 😜

Oh jo what is a toning table?

Ha ha RT 😃😄😅
Sitting in the sun up in the New England at a Celtic Festival. Plenty of great perfomers in town and the full spectrum of visitors. What a great way to get communities together.
Check out the Australian Standing Stones at Glen Innes. ☺☺ P

Morning/evening all,

We finally have a warm, sunny but breezy day after a very cold, damp and overcast week with a bitterly cold wind. It was so cold I’ve had the heating on again!

I’m taking advantage of the weather by doing the laundry and I am also in the situation where I open the wardrobe and can’t find what I want to wear as it is in the ironing pile, so I guess I’ll be doing that later. There is some tennis on TV to distract me so it won’t be too onerous 😉

Barata, thanks for your kind words, the memory of lost loved ones has been overwhelming this week along with attending the hospital with a friend who was given the news we all dread and that stirred up many emotions, sadness, compassion, fear, relief that it’s not me (not something everyone is able to admit to) and numerous other less than positive thoughts.
I did go out with my best friend on Wednesday who cheered me up immensely with her wise counsel and sense of fun.
I’m out of the tunnel now and ready to keep on keeping on 🙂

I’m fasting today so keeping busy is on the agenda and there is plenty more cleaning and tidying to do. I’ve no idea who makes all this mess………..

Have a good weekend everybody 😜

Morning/evening all,

Happy,

For once the north/south divide in the weather has been in your favour. It is getting warmer by the day here with 17C forecast today but tempered by a stiff breeze and too many clouds that are just getting in the way of the sun. I wouldn’t mind if they dropped some rain as we’ve had far too little so far this spring. It is more like March weather than May and the cold snap which brought frost last week has ruined a large proportion of what would have been the 2017 English grape harvest which is a big blow for the supply of an increasingly popular beverage.

I get the iron out less than once a month as I only have a few long sleeved shirts that need its attention. If I’ve got something to watch on TV or I put some lively music on I hardly notice I’m doing it 😉

Fasting has been OK this week but NFDs have been more of a challenge. Now I’m in a much better frame of mind all should be well.

NFD today and I’m going to break my fast with some buckwheat and kefir pancakes with English strawberries. I’ll cook all the batter and freeze the leftovers for another weekend brunch 🙂

Have you noticed that any problem with food supply to supermarkets is now a crisis? A month or so ago it was the courgette crisis, followed by the iceberg lettuce crisis (does anyone really eat such tasteless stuff, and lettuce in the winter….) and now we have the hummus crisis due to imported Canadian chickpeas giving it a metallic taste.

Who buys hummus when homemade takes no more than 5 minutes to make and has a far superior flavour…….

Have a good one everybody 😜

I’m puzzled by “reduced fat hummus” as the only fat is the sesame oil in the tahini.
Olive oil should be drizzled on top not added to the ingredients.

I used to buy dips occasionally but I don’t bother now as I’ve always got the ingredients for something, guacamole, hummus, tomato, ricotta with herbs and garlic. They are perfect for a light lunch with carrots and cucumber.

I use tinned chick peas as I so rarely make a large amount and they are perfect for spur of the moment decisions or the occasional unexpected guest.
I also have a recurring memory of staying with a friend (many years ago) when one evening she put some chick peas on to cook and opened a flagon of cider.
The result was burnt chick peas. She insisted the hummus would be fine.
I still have recurring nightmares where I can taste it 😖😖😖

I was reminded this morning why I seldom make pancakes. It always takes a couple of disasters before I get them right. My brother used to make a batch every Saturday for his children and they were always perfect.
Maybe I should make them more often but that probably wouldn’t help the waistline…….

They were very tasty. I’m out of buckwheat flour now so I’ll try something else next time.

Morning/evening all,

Another overcast morning.

Nama, it’s not about snobbery it’s about flavour! I find iceberg lettuce tasteless.

I am trying to motivate myself to get out of the house for some fresh air but this sofa is soooo comfortable.

Have a good one everybody 😜

Happy, the forecast from now on is looking very good so even in the frozen North a frost is unlikely………

I’ve been to the newsagent and it is warmer than it looks so I’m off to Kew for some fresh air. I might have to have a look in the garden centre too as my Cape daisy has expired.

Hi Jo,

Yes, I feed my chilli peppers in pretty much the same way as the tomatoes and they certainly crop well. They like to be warm, as do cucumbers, whereas tomatoes don’t mind colder overnight temperatures. So the tomatoes are already in the glasshouse whereas chillies and cucumbers get carried out daily at the moment! I’m looking forward to a couple of weeks time, when everything’s planted out, no more watering small pots, or covering things overnight, and I can sit back and relax…. oh no, that’s just a dream I had 😀

Fingers crossed it all goes well with surgery tomorrow. I’ll be thinking of you. I know what I’m like with my animals when they’re ill, old mother hen! When I found a lump on my favourite ever cat a few years ago (potentially a death sentence, but luckily responded to treatment) my OH asked if I was going to cry every day until he (the cat!) died. All I could was blub, yes probably!

Good luck with bowls!

Hi again,

I’m just back from a lovely walk. I walked to Kew Gardens which takes 15 minutes, had a stroll along the towpath and then went into the Gardens.
It was much warmer than the dull dark clouds suggest and the sun put in an appearance too.

The bluebells were beautiful as were the other wildflowers in bloom in the Oak wood that borders the Thames.Rhododendron Dell was glorious with so many of them plus Azaleas and numerous other spring flowers in full bloom but the most beautiful thing I saw this morning was a mother duck with 10 of the smallest ducklings I’ve ever seen. They can’t have been more than a couple of days old 🦆🐣🐤🐥
I also saw some very small Egyptian goose goslings and some larger Canada goose goslings but no cygnets yet.

The whole place is so green now, with all the trees in leaf and some in bloom, plus everything else growing away despite the wintry weather. I was also pleased to see how busy it was so early on a Sunday morning.

There was a once a month Sunday market near the station and some of the profits go to local charities so I thought I would go and have a look.
I bought some enormous duck eggs (yes I know……..) and some fabulous looking rose veal and a sourdough loaf most of which will be going into the freezer to keep the remaining soda bread company 😉
Brunch was a duck egg sarnie 🙂

Hi All there is a lot to like about having freedom and flexibility with in a frame work of no time table or schedule. So with destination unknown we are just bumming around really and loving it !! What also is being confirmed to me / us is the absolute need to adapt the fasting into a permanent way of life that slips seamlessly into any location and occasion so that routines remain in place that work. Each and every one of us will have our own methodology which has been modified to suit our lives. Eating window fast days non fast days TDEE exercise to snack or not to snack so I really do not make any change if on a short break or at home and at work and that I think is the key it is life style that never ends after getting to goal as it does not have to, just switch the focus from weight loss to long term health benefits and acknowledgement that in simple terms I ate and drank too much when I was not hungry and was not thirsty just pass me another beer please 😉
Peace RT.

Hello,
Very busy and beautiful day here and therefore eating when hungry for the sake of health. Good!
The neighbor comes by and speaks to my husband:
“You look so good! You’ve lost lots of weight.”
I go food shopping, cook, cleanup after cooking and else and eat less of the samething cooking food made by me for him. 🙄🤡😡😤
Must be the genes.
RT – did you retire? Have fun 🍺You are a good example and inspiration 🙏
Have a good week folks 🆒
Tomorrow is another day 😷

Good news, Jo. I hope there are no further issues, if vet is not optimistic.

All good here, happy that when I woke at 4am, I was only awake for half an hour, then went back to sleep – yay, really hope that old bogey of being awake for two hours has been put to bed – pun intended 🙂

Well I finally accepted that my weight loss is really going to take some time!!! I was impatient with the amount I’ve lost these past two weeks when I grasped the fact that I am going down and whilst I should theoretically be losing more my body is grudgingly letting go… I’m working out at the gym and evenn managed to get there this morning at 6:20 am. My workload is crazy so I don’t get home until 7 and then I really need to put in another two hours so I just have to commit to early morning routines. Bloody exhausted however!
My very funny exercise moment was when adjusting the treadmill I accidentally put it on 8.8 Km an hour!!! I can jog a little at 6.2 km but that’s it…. So with my legs running as fast as I could , one hand on the support I tried to reduce the speed….I so was not going to call out to the three muscly men that I studiously avoid eye contact with most of the time to come to my aid I think it took me 20 seconds to get it under control…my heart beat was 155, agh…I’m not sure this was what Moseley meant by hIIT…. My staff later that day were most amused with my recount and yes there is an emergency stop but in my haste to stay upright, that fact escaped me😀🏃🏼

Hi everyone,

Another dull and cool day here, but wall to wall sunshine is forecast tomorrow.

Emel, I’ve been going to the gym since Jan 2015 and every time I step on the treadmill I say to myself “today I’m going to try running” and every day I chicken out, so well done for doing it.

I’m sure that once your body gets used to the early morning routine you’ll feel much better. I know it took me a while for my body to feel better rather than worse after a workout and I don’t have a full time job!

I spent the whole morning at the gym yesterday and really pushed myself. I was really pleased with the amount of work I was able to do and even more pleased when I got up this morning with no stiffness or aching anywhere.

I struggled through a FD yesterday and ended up having 700 calories so will be exercising restraint today to compensate. As for weight loss, all I can say is I’ve cracked maintenance but it’s a bit premature as I’m not at goal yet……

Have a good one everybody 😜

Yes we can put man on the moon and have all sorts of amazing pictures from Mars but we cannot have a mobile phone service and or WiFi everywhere within Australia the black hole still exists people 😯 BEWARE !!!!
HCB I am just taking a short break from work and following the sun in my caravan and twin cab 4wd with Yfee and our white fluff ball Ollie but back to my plant on Monday to work. I really enjoy working and my job so that is a definite bonus I will only be 54 next birthday it is my intention to work until 70 so I have plenty of work in front of me yet. And I look forward to it. Emel of course I have seen many youtube examples and funny home videos of your experience taken in your stride again I am sensing progress not perfection now for you well done..wow your dog walking slash jog was hell funny what with Melbourne weather turning pear and the quip “it was not pretty “ outstanding 😆 Nama my sons all bombed out badly in their footy tips a high of 3 was the norm the crows was an extraordinary game giving away a 10 goal head start to zero in the first term unheard of, so let’s not speak of this evil again 😉 and look forward to this weekend round of matches… Including vision from Jianwan Sports Stadium. Shanghai China. And supporters are going there to watch and be apart of History now that’s dedication right there.
RT

I understand Emel.
I gather from the past posts that you are the boss? Can you rethink your work space. ..a standing desk?, make sure you have to walk from your office to the other staff to discuss things?, make exursions around the full campus a regular part of overseeing the success of your management? Park a short distance away, not in the staff carpark, so that you have to walk? Go out for a walk at lunchtime? Introduce ‘pause gymnastics’ for all office staff?
And lastly, try to work within set times so that you get some Emel time. I know it’s easier said than done.😊😊
Create strict rules when to stop work and incorporate activity in your day. Everyone at work will benefit from your rolemodelling. Cheers P

Well we should all be running! So set that treadmill faster than you can walk!

A recent review of evidence published in the journal Progress in Cardiovascular Disease (and reported in The Guardian) apparently found that runners live three years longer than non-runners. You can smoke, drink and be overweight, but reduce your risk of dying early by running (by up to 40%). Running is more effective at prolonging life than walking, cycling or swimming. A previous study also found that found that running as little as 5-10 minutes a day, at less than 6mph (10kph), reduced the risk of heart disease (and early death from any cause).

So forget two hours in the gym. Do a bit of interval training to build up to running (jogging) 10 minutes a day. Jobs a good’un 😀

Jo,

I was pleased to read that Tilly had recovered from surgery, but sorry that you don’t yet have a definitive prognosis. Fingers crossed that she has more healthy happy years in her yet.

Ok for you youngsters Happy, if I took up running I would soon need bilateral hip AND knee replacements! I will stick to swimming thanks….

Oi Nama, I’m older than you and love running! 😊 I’m more likely to fall over when I’m barely moving. P