Lose 2 lb per week – join Jojo in this quest

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HappyNow

10:28 pm
2 Jan 15
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Hi All,

I’ve been reading over the hols, but not in the right place to join in much (one of the family has been a right self-centred t*sser, and it’s taken up too much time and energy).

I see there’s been a lot of new joiners though! I was a new joined last January, although I pretty much lurked until May…

So, for new starters, and hopefully to help inspire you… At the start of last January I was 72.4kg (at 5ft7 not vastly overweight, but I was fat and I despised myself for it). I reached goal (63kg) by my 45th birthday (15th April). That goal was a bit arbitrary, based on it being the lightest I’d ever been as an adult. Anyway, it took another 6 weeks to work out how to stop losing weight. Since early June I’ve been 59-60kg, maintaining by 16:8, low processed carb/ sugar (Mon-Fri), with some semi-fasts/ fast days thrown in if my weight starts creeping up.

I weigh daily and adjust feeding accordingly.

My eating preferences have changed and it’s generally healthy food I crave now. And portion sizes are massively reduced, I can’t overeat anymore.

I didn’t exercise really until I’d reached my goal weight… But once I’d lost weight I just wanted to (and still do!) break into run all the time! Ah, the lightness of being me…!

Good luck to all those on the journey, just starting, or now maintaining.

SAMM

10:28 pm
2 Jan 15
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Was only 25f when I crawled under the heating blanket.
Since I made the heating blanket a constant , I’ve not felt the chill I used to feel when fasting.

ply24mp

12:27 am
3 Jan 15
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Be safe, Aussie friends. I hope the forecast is cool and wet soon.

Finishing my dinner of haddock cooked in a parchment packet with squash, date, and lemon compote with a side of sautéed chard and shiitake mushrooms. Certainly not ingredients I would have put together on my own, but ridiculously yummy! Makes the case for trying new recipes. These are from the Food Lover’s Cleanse plan I posted earlier. I’m not sure what my husband will make of it when he gets home from work. Dessert will be a bit of spicy dark chocolate bark with orange zest and hazelnuts. How can one go wrong?

My stats for 2014:
Lost 30 pounds in 18 weeks, March-July with 5:2, 4:3, 16:8, some B2B, exercise, and this thread!
Waist from 39″ to 29″ Sadly, I did not take many other measurements!
Went off the wagon for most of the rest of the year, gained 4 pounds back
Working on those 4 pounds, plus an additional 9 to reach my ultimate goal of 126 lbs, or 9 stone.

Enjoy the weekend, all! Weemam, I hope you are feeling less pain!

Nama

1:02 am
3 Jan 15
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Thanks Happy, it’s very inspiring to read of others real success with 5:2.
Ply your dinner sounds lovely. Know what you mean about trying new recipes, I need some new salads for this Summer. (Into the 40’s in Melbourne today, made much worse by a very strong north wind.) I did look at the link you posted, looks like a lot of lovely food. Move over Jamie O!

Nicky, Aussie Oma and RT I am thinking of you all today. ABC said the expected winds in the ranges will seriously hamper fire fighting today. I have so much respect for fire fighters who risk their lives routinely for us.

Good to hear from you Wee and glad you are going to follow thru with Amazons good advice. If it was your arthritis getting worse, then surely it would not have settled last time? I have an old whiplash injury, plus years of lifting with Nursing, so take great care of my back/neck these days. Just cleaning 2 showers in one day is enough to make the muscles in my shoulders painful. I try to do stuff like that in short bursts now and never lift anything heavy. Not worth the repercussions! Frustrating but just paying the price of old injuries. All the various ‘lifts’ we were taught as student nurses are banned these days! Probably driven more by the lawyers/insurance companies than concern for nurses backs!

Lying very low in the heat today, very glad garden is well mulched. I got up to open up the house at 3.30am but when I checked, it was still hotter outside! May need to find something to do that requires very little energy..A movie maybe? Too hot to cook, def a BBQ tonight.

Crazy to think of SAMM using his electric blanket! And you in the UK walking on icy lanes. We stayed in Oklahoma once during winter and it really showed me how hard winters like that can be. Husband nearly crashed the rental car several times!

NickyF

1:09 am
3 Jan 15
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Good morning fast trackers, good to hear from you all.

Have you heard the quote ‘to make the gods laugh, tell them your plans’? After saying last night we still had power, despite ‘catastrophic’ fire danger rating, woke up this morning to strong smell of smoke and no power! 🙁

Rushed around in mild panic trying to find direction of wind then checked phone for texts from CFS but nothing. Turned on local ABC on my battery radio to hear that smoke was from the fire north of here, like AO, about 30 km away. Extreme relief!!! Our CFS crews also out, and fire bombers are in action. That fire in a fairly populated rural area so keeping fingers crossed for them and the volunteer fire fighters. Also thinking of those fighting the Tantanoola fire. Glad RT and your MIL safe.

In all that flurry, forgot to get on the scales this morning. Decided that skipping breakfast 7 days/week too boring so had blueberries and yoghurt.

About 11.30am here and dinner preparations well under control for our guests tonight.

Purple and Wee, hope improvements continue. Also Emel – still hoping we can get together some time after you’re better.

Take care everyone and keep up the good work. Nx

NickyF

1:11 am
3 Jan 15
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Hi Nama, our posts crossed.

Take care and stay cool. Temp slowly dropping here now so cool change for you shouldn’t be too far away.

Nama

1:15 am
3 Jan 15
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Hi Nicky,

Phew! That’s not a good way to wake up! Wouldn’t it be lovely if you got a cool change with rain to put all the fires out. Have a lovely dinner tonight, esp the Panna Cotta!

comespring

1:55 am
3 Jan 15
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Morning All,
Well, we’re certainly feeling the effects of the SA fires, and we’re praying for all affected at the moment. Planes have been flying back and forth over my house all morning, to and from the fire zone very close to where I live (we’re safe here, thankfully) and 2 friends have lost their sheds and their blocks are burnt out. At this stage their houses remain standing, although the wind change that just came through is posing a renewed risk. It is a terrifying and sobering accompaniment to our summers here, and our love and thoughts are centred on all those affected xx

Purple Vegie Eater

7:23 am
3 Jan 15
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As promised, I looked back and was surprised.
My stats:
Had always been about 54kg as a young adult. 5 pregnancies later, and menopause and I was 75kg.
Then, after an operation and fall in January 13, I put on another 10kg. I had reached 85kg. My waist was 109cm.

Started 5:2 in April 13 and was very strict eating the TDEE for a 60kg person and changing my diet to reduce carbs, cut out snacks, introduced more seafood.

After 20 weeks I was down to 70kg (33 pound loss). The rate of loss slowed after this, but was always on a steady downward slope. I felt great, so took up walking long distances. My feet couldn’t do that before. By October my waist was 90cm (7 ½“ smaller). I replaced most of my clothes, thinking I’d never get any smaller! Ha! In November 13 I reached my early goal of 65kg.

We went away to WA for Xmas 13 and I gained a couple of kg, but lost them within a fortnight. My new goal was “below 60”. I reached that on that 12 month anniversary of staring 5:2.

Since then, despite not trying to lose weight, but trying to still fast and eat well, I have continued to lose. My lowest in 2014 was 55.7, a couple of weeks ago. That’s a total of nearly 30kg (66 pounds) in 20 months. I have lost over a foot from my waistline!!!!! I’m still altering and replacing clothes.

So, after the initial loss to “goal” in April 14 I have lost another 4-5 kg. My measurements have remained steady since July 14, except for my waist! I have barely changed weight, but I have lost another 2” off my waist. Obviously I am now burning visceral fat. Interesting that it has taken this long for this to happen.

Benefits:
As Happy says, I love my new lighter body.
I have gone from size 16 to size 9 (sometimes 8)
My blood pressure is massively better
I can wear high heels again my feet don’t ache
I can run anywhere and swim long distances without getting breathless
I look good in swimmers again

Techniques:
Strict 2 fasts a week
No breakfast on fast days, and many other days
Lots of fish and leafy veg
Limited processed foods, white carbs, sugars
Drink wine in moderation all days but fasts
Weigh every morning (and often evening) to judge how much I can eat

Aim:
To continue this wol forever

Hope this helps. Cheers Purple xx

bayleafoz

8:06 am
3 Jan 15
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Yay Purple. Endorse your method 100%

Purple Vegie Eater

8:11 am
3 Jan 15
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What you wouldn’t approve of, Bay, was the large piece of banana bread I had for breakfast after yesterday’s good fast. I’ve had a stomach ache all day! A silly way to prove I really can’t tolerate sugar and flour without someone healthy. 🙁 P
Terrible news from Adelaide and Victoria.

jojo58

9:32 am
3 Jan 15
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Good Morning Fast Trackers,

Lost 2 lb of the Christmas weight already so good news but still 4 lb off my lowest for last year so not celebrating yet.

Had a full measure up and weigh in today so I have my starting point for this year. I will not focus on the three stone to lose but the 2 lb to lose each week, it makes dieting easier to have small goals. I am convinced that 19/5 is the way to go for me. I think the hot drinks will see me through the non eating periods, plus 7 pm to 12 next day are times when I am busiest or asleep. I think it would be a very difficult programme if you were sitting home in the evenings watching TV.

Luckily I am out doing a variety of activities each night, I strongly recommend you join some clubs, anything to keep you occupied e.g. Choir, badminton, camera club, book club, dance group, social group, walking group or gym.

I will do most of my four hours activity( exercise) each day in the morning which can then be rewarded with the first ‘fast’ break at 12. I plan to do shopping meeting friends, housework, cooking during the afternoon when I can snack if I want. Final healthy low carb non processed, no sugar meal at 5 pm then out and about.

I will try to avoid meals out in general( choose soup, fish and veg if no option) but at friends houses just be a ‘good’ guest and eat what is served even if it is fattening( small portions though).

I am not drinking except for very special occasions, I now prefer water or soda and lime. The odd glass of red wine at meals may be desirable.

Thank goodness party season is over as my house is free from all temptation.

The only carbs I will eat are the occasional potato and a little rice( weekly not daily). Bread is not on my agenda at all over the next four months.

This diet probably sounds very harsh to new readers but trust me it has taken 2 years and 5 stones off to get to this point. I was nearly 18 stones, that is a very scary thing to see on the scales of truth. My mental attitude to food and my body has been transformed through this journey. I no longer lust for certain foods, I am ‘over’ sugar completely and pastry is now extinct in my vocabulary. I thought these foods were friends, they were enemies destroying my life and my self esteem. My friends now are foods that are good for my body, my self esteem and confidence are improving daily but I still have 6 months to reach my peak. It’s great to have taken control of my appetite after 30 years of being weak willed and defeatist.

Good luck everyone that is joining me for this challenge. Make sure to record your statistics either privately or publicly and post your loses. It will give you the incentive to lose weekly. Trust me, we will support each other. We don’t have failures just set backs. Believe me I am the Queen of yoyo dieting and accept that holidays and socialising will always set me back. Remember quickly gained, quickly lost. It’s disheartening but not a reason to give up. We are going for goal! Nothing less will do! We owe this to ourselves and more importantly to our bodies.

Have some fun along the way, meet some new friends, live life!

Purple Vegie Eater

9:43 am
3 Jan 15
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Great plans Jojo. You WILL achieve as you know your body now. Well done. Keep it up! Your cyber mate and supporter
Purple xx

Amazon

9:48 am
3 Jan 15
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Morning/evening all.

Cold, very wet and overcast here this morning. I wish I could send this rain to SA and Victoria.

This is the second day in a row that I’ve got up with no pain or stiffness in my back

Jojo, do you belong to a walking group? I’m considering joining one.

bayleafoz

10:54 am
3 Jan 15
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Purple

Just shows how little you know me. I don’t disapprove of banana bread at all. Toasted banana bread with real butter is one of the treats of life. 🙄 is it me who is the someone healthy who must be there when you eat it?

I did forget to say in my start of year post that my ability to stay on 5:2 leading to weight loss was assisted by doing something physical each day, particularly on a fast day. Scrubbing my floors and walking the dog are my favourite ways to keep busy. 😮

We are cooling down after a very warm day spent with friends and relatives. Hope all is well.
Cheers, Bay 🙂

ply24mp

10:54 am
3 Jan 15
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Jojo and Purple, my two greatest inspirations! Thanks for all you share!

bayleafoz

10:56 am
3 Jan 15
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Amazon,
Love the emoticons. I’ve been to the smiley site, but I don’t know how to select the code for posting on here.
Cheers, Bay 🙂

Purple Vegie Eater

11:07 am
3 Jan 15
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Aw…ply. 😉

Nama

11:52 am
3 Jan 15
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Good evening Northern friends!

We have just finished watching the original Steve Coogan and Rob Bryden driving/eating movie, “The Trip” and I loved it. Not just the food, but the beautiful English scenery, very wintery and very beautiful. Have seen it before and enjoyed it a second time. Made me think of all of you!

Weather still warm (27 at 10.45pm) but much better than the 37 we had most of the day. Hopefully the worst of the fires are over and the weather stays cool enough for them to be extinguished completely. Victoria seems to have calmed, hard to know latest re SA? As long as no lives are lost. Fires are part of life in our Summers, but one never gets used to it. You feel completely at the mercy of the weather, especially the wind.

Great to read of your plans for this year Jojo. After coming this far you must feel the end is in sight. And you have learnt so much and changed so much you can’t help but succeed. You and Purple are both very inspiring, plus of course Bayleaf’s pearls of wisdom that get tossed in randomly. Also SAMM who continually
astounds me with his dedication and determination. I feel if I just hang around this thread, your magic will just rub off on me a bit! I know I still have to make an effort, but reading about the success of all you winners makes it all seem so achievable, ok, doable!! Xmas eating was a challenge, but it’s over now and time for me to knuckle down!

FoodAddict1

12:05 pm
3 Jan 15
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Hi, I’m new here and wow jojo that sounds amazing. You were weak willed for 30 years and now you’re coming back into action. That’s amazing and it really gives me hope as I’ve only been struggling for 3 years (yes I know it’s still a long time lol). I’m also very low on will power but I’d love to join you on your quest to at least try and give it a go. I don’t think I’ll manage 2lbs a week simply because I know I will have slip up days that will push me backwards, but I’m going to try my best to avoid them. I love how it’s like a quest or a mission rather than a diet because a quest usually has positive connotations and makes me see it in a completely different light. I feel like even if I can afford to eat something I should take it as a challenge not to. I’ll be posting my results weekly hopefully 🙂

Amazon

12:57 pm
3 Jan 15
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Bay, you need to copy and paste the html code

Hi foodaddict and welcome. You’ll get plenty of support snd encoursgement here. Good luck.

Aussie Oma

12:59 pm
3 Jan 15
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Welcome Foodaddict. We ALL have slip up days for us they’re the days in between fast days 😀 and no, it’s not always easy but it IS doable and that’s the main point. This is not a diet as such (always restricting yourself, never allowing any non-diet foods and this is why diets as diets don’t work or don’t for long as they’re not sustainable), this Way Of Life (WOL) is so doable, you restrict calories for TWO days per week to 400 intake, the other days you eat between your BMR and TDEE (some choose to set these at their goal BMR and TDEE others don’t … there’s no right or wrong just what works for you 🙂 ). The first month is the hardest as you’re trying to get into a routine that works for you. Myself I have FD’s (fast days) on Tue and Thu with an occasional semi-FD on other days. I rarely eat before dinner/tea/evening meal but do occasionally have lunch but this is what works for me. I’ve gained 1kg over Christmas/New Year but I expected that and so now I’m back on track and will make my losses count 😀 . One word of advice and that is to make sure you DO weigh yourself each week AND take measurements … I only take measurements for Bust/Chest, Waist, Hips and Neck but others also do thigh, upper arm and some others too. Even though I gained last week on the scales the tape measure showed a loss (go figure!) which is why I highly recommend you take measurements too 😀 .

Thanks everyone for your thoughts for those of us in SA and Vic … we have wonderful people who are trying to put these fires out, they volunteer and so their families are also, in my opinion, supporting us all too. Various friends/family have evacuated to safe places along with their animals where possible. We’ve put the word out that they’re welcome to put stock/horses in our paddocks too, and use our kennels for their dogs as if needed we can double/triple up our kids to make more secure room for others.

Although quite hot today it was not as extremely dry/hot as yesterday. I thought long and hard about losing 2lb/wk and realised that I needed to have soup more often. To that end I made another batch of soup this evening (too hot to cook during the day even with air conditioning on). I got a ham bone (quite a meaty one I might add) to make my stock I put the hame bone into a saucepan and added 3 cloves of garlic and 3L water, some chilli, paprika, cayenne, black pepper, seasoning. While that was simmering I chopped up one leek (quite a big one I might add 😀 ), 100 to 150g baby spinach, 1kg brussel sprouts, 500g stringless beans, 2 broccoli (fine sliced the internal part of the stalk too just cut the outer edges off), 200g mushrooms, 2 tomatoes, 1 caulie (and a partridge in a pear tree … just kidding 😀 ). When the stock was done I removed the ham bone (and removed meat from the bone), transferred the stock into a soup pan (30L) added all the veggies and a bit more of the spices, plus another 10L of water. While that was brewing I got 1kg lean beef mince, spiced that up and made tiny meat balls which then went into the pan too and left it all simmering for a couple of hours. Had a tiny taster of it (juices only) to make sure it was flavoursome enough (and it IS) so turned off the heat and now just let it all stew while cooling overnight. In the morning I’ll decant into single serves and freeze all but one which will be lunch tomorrow (tomorrow is NOT a FD for me 😀 )

RT thinking of your and your MIL/family. Nicky stay safe, you too Emel and everyone else affected by these devastating fires.

Wee glad to hear from you, PVE, Jojo, SAMM, Smiffy, Nama, Bay and everyone else we’re all so glad of your support with this WOL.

FoodAddict1

1:18 pm
3 Jan 15
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Wow that soup sounds really nice Aussie Oma. Thanks for the advice, I’ll need to buy some measuring tape 🙂 wow your scale went up but measurements went down? Were you doing some muscle building exercises or something? I just made some stir fried vegetables and ate two (small) bowls of that (today isn’t my fast day by the way, so I added a good amount of butter) it had pak choi, Savoy cabbage, spring onions and baby sweetcorn in it and it was delicious. I hope I can keep this up for the rest of the day and not go out and binge on whatever I have lol

Nama

1:23 pm
3 Jan 15
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Aussie Oma your soup sounds lovely…it is a dieters friend! Glad to hear you are out of harms way and hope those fires are all out very soon. What a trooper you are, making soup in the cool of the evening!

Welcome FoodAddict. Just watch and learn! The experienced fasters on this thread will answer any of your questions with sound advice. I noticed on another thread you posted on that someone tried to tell you that this way of eating could lead to an eating disorder, and also from your bio that you are only 16. All of the successful fasters on this thread will show you that you are quite safe fasting. Actually by only restricting your food strictly 2 days a week, you don’t become as obsessed with food as when you are trying to restrict every day. You also said your Mum controlled your intake by locking the kitchen, but really, you could have easily gotten food elsewhere. We all love food, that’s why we have eaten too much of it than was good for us, maybe addict is too strong a word. I suggest you read all of Jojo’s posts carefully and you will see how she has managed very successfully to find a busier, happier and more active life where food is still important but not her main focus. You seem smart enough to want to manage your eating now before it gets out of hand, don’t panic, it’s not as hard as you think! Good luck!

FoodAddict1

2:23 pm
3 Jan 15
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Hi Nama, thank you so much for the support and advice, it makes me want to try this out even more! I feel like I can handle just two days a week as long as I set the days (I’m doing Mondays and Thursdays) I find that if I don’t have two set days a week I end up telling myself I’ll do it tomorrow and the fast days never come. I’ll try to read as many of jojo’s posts as possible but it’s a bit hard to go through 110 pages of posts! Is there by any chance an easier way to just read the posts that jojo made? Thanks again 🙂

Nama

2:39 pm
3 Jan 15
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FoodAddict having set days will help and you will eventually look forward to those days. Sorry I wasn’t very clear re reading Jojo’s posts, perhaps just start from one week ago. Everyone has been reporting their stats for the start of the New Year so you will find lots of good summaries over the past few pages.

AO, Nicky and RT I just heard on the ABC that the Adelaide hills fire is still uncontrolled and many homes lost! Sending love and prayers to you all.

Amazon

3:01 pm
3 Jan 15
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All my plans for the day have gone out of the window due to the early delivery of my new notebook. I’ve spent most of the time setting it up. I’ve not eaten yet and it isn’t a fast day!
It is cold, wet and dull outside. The forecast for tomorrow is much better and I can’t wait to get out for a decent walk.

Smiffy

4:22 pm
3 Jan 15
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Hello all

Just to let you know I am still in the land of the living. After a manic few weeks and numerous occasions that involved much eating and drinking, we now have a ‘free week’ and are determined to get back into a sensible routine. That said, we only missed two fast days, during Christmas week, and although OH insists we don’t keep a set of scales here in a Wales, I don’t think I’ve done any great damage. Nothing seems tighter than it was before Christmas, which is a blessing, and I’m hoping that when we go home with a few more fast days under our belts, I will have lost anything I may have gained.

I need to lose about 6 lbs to reach my 3st weight loss since beginning this WOE it the end of May. I will then assess the situation as to whether I need to lose any more. I will be 11st then, and I am 5’5″. Ideally I would liked to be about 10st but am afraid of ending up scrawny and everyone thinking I am ill! That is a problem with losing a lot of weight at this age.

Hi to FoodAddict11. It sounds as if you’ve got it under control and know what you are doing. As has been suggested, do read the previous posts, especially Jojo’s. She has been a source of great inspiration and encouragement, along with the other seasoned 5:2-ers on this thread.

Aussie friends – you have been so much in my thoughts during the past few days. I do hope there is some good news from your part of the World soon. Keep safe x

Weemam – I do hope you are much better and more mobile now.

Amazon – good luck with the new notebook. Sounds like a blessing in disguise if it is keeping your mind off food! I love the sound of AO’s soup!

Hi to everyone else. Have a good weekend all

Smiffy x

PS have any UK Fasters bought the Saturday Mail today? It has a 5:2 booklet with it and there are a few nice recipes to ring the changes in there.

Amazon

4:41 pm
3 Jan 15
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Hi Smiffy.
I’m half an inch taller than you and have decided to aim for 10st and do as much exercise as possible including good old Callanetics.

I’m going to have to invest in an external DVD drive though as my laptop screen is on the way out and I won’t be able to play them soon.

jojo58

4:53 pm
3 Jan 15
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Good evening all and welcome FoodAddict1.

I love that you get the challenge attitude – clever thinking – it’s all about mind control really.

Definitely don’t read back 110 pages, no need, any questions you need answered just ask, I post once or twice daily. I love the idea that this thread could be helping young people trying to make changes. On my first ever diet (at age 21) I joined weight watchers, a very different slimming group from the multi national organisation that now exists. Then we followed a set programme which included all food groups but not sugary food or fat. I ate carrot sticks all day every day plus very small meals. I lost 10 lbs in week one and was told not to return as I was then below my goal. I had started at 9 st 8 lbs. I learned nothing about nutrition or food control but I learned to count calories. I strongly believe this was a huge mistake in my eating history. I learned that I could lose weight quickly and therefore could eat what I wanted when I wanted it. I now think we need to help all young people to learn about the foods that do us good – long term.
Keep drinking water to stave off your appetite, eat lots of fruit and veg and avoid carbs if possible especially bread and sugar foods – you will succeed and I am really interested in your results. Exercise daily- walk for one hour minimum- borrow a dog, the owner will be thrilled, commit to be a daily dog walker. There is a scheme to walk dogs for elderly people. Most importantly keep reading and posting.

My 2 hour walk was pretty miserable, very, very wet but good for a gossip, 6 women and one man( poor guy) most old enough to be his mother.

Out to a party tonight but I can’t eat as my window will be closed( food wise) had lunch at 2 pm so dinner before 7 pm. This will be my first challenge this year. But I will be wearing a ‘slimming dress’ and there will be no room for food. If I feel this good now imagine how great I will feel when I get to goal? Unstoppable!

I am really looking forward to all your results in 7 days – don’t let our group down, you all know how and we all know why we are doing this. Go Fast trackers! More the merrier for anyone out there lurking in Cyberspace, just pop in and post, we want to know how you are doing.

Amazon – I am in several walking groups and I can strongly recommend you joining. I am doing the training soon to organise my own National Health Walk – voluntary of course. This is really important work, getting people active and socially supported. I suspect loneliness is the route cause of obesity and you don’t have to live alone to feel cut off from society. The Ramblers Assn is also nation wide, walk on Sunday’s mostly but some in London during the week. They are very well organised but it’s a bit like a frog march, I prefer a normal pace and enjoying my surroundings. I am really looking forward to our walk around Kew.

jojo58

4:57 pm
3 Jan 15
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Amazon, we have the same weight goal, great!

Aussie Oma – that soup sounds fantastic, you will be on my visit list for sure

Smithy – 11 stone? Seriously I thought you looked amazing in York. The real test is a bikini! Fortunately that won’t be need for six months unless you have planned some travel?

Love to everyone, everywhere, be safe, be pain free, be honest.

Amazon

5:38 pm
3 Jan 15
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Thanks Jojo, I looked at the Ramblers website but I think I’ll look for some other local groups, maybe go for a walk with them before signing up to anything.
I’ve done nothing today as I’m still playing with my new notebook. Double exercise tomorrow methinks. I have eaten less than 1000 calories today so at least I’ve managed to stick to my eating plan

jojo58

6:13 pm
3 Jan 15
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Great work Amazon
I love walking and chatting to people from all walks of life, it’s great.
As a result of joining one of mine I have started a social club on Friday nights.
There are kindred spirits everywhere

Jojo xx

RougeTrader

8:11 pm
3 Jan 15
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Hi Nama AO and Nicky a big shout out to you ALL the well wishes love and prayers are welcomed and appreciated now done here the Tantanoola Glencoe fire has had the risk reduced to watch and act with no losses of home or life a scrub fire
Units from here and the district where in attendance and when the weather changed yesterday afternoon it was certainly cooler a little rain thunder and lightning a few spot fires about place from lightning but Nama you are spot on and make a valid point it is summer and it is part of life. No lives lost The Sampson flat fire in the Adelaide Hills however homes have been lost including volunteer fire fighters places tragic 11000 hectares have been burnt fire is only 26km from Adelaide city and a with a dozen small towns in between and unlikely to be under control by Wednesday when more catastrophic fire conditions are predicted.
FoodAddict welcome to the family Jojo is the unstoppable and our inspirational leader of the pack PVE I have copied and paste your CV I will leave it lying around on the breakfast bar 😯 who knew you are exceptional and a very very good example of life I guess from the female point of view and my Y-fee is certainly in that vacuum right now where it’s ALL going or gone wrong at the same time change of life thermostat bung hormones crazy emotions terrible give up the smokes put on 20kg not happy etc at this moment in time it seems I have reduced my faults to just 2 now which is a grand feat trust me 😆 everything I say and everything I do 😉 however my results have sparked some quiet conversations in soft tones with her so some interest has re developed now in the 5-2 wol and that’s a massive step for her its gone from a straight out I can’t do to a maybe I will have another go so and action is the foundational key to all success
“To write with a broken pencil is pointless”
Peace RT

Amazon

8:36 pm
3 Jan 15
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Hi RT.

I see you are taking a leaf out of Jojo’s book and aiming to lead by example. I hope your wife decides to give it a go, especially as she has a live in diet pal and support system. Yes I mean you!
She certainly won’t feel any worse by the sound of it. Fingers crossed for you both.

Purple Vegie Eater

9:38 pm
3 Jan 15
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Morning all. Warm but pleasant here…sitting by the pool in swimmers with magpies warbling 😆

Good advice Nama and Jojo. This woe should not lead to eating disorders because it’s intermittent. We learn to regulate our intake.

Hi Smiffy. I’m your height and have come to realise somewhere in the 8 stones is my proper weight. I kept reassessing as I lost weight and it is only since I dropped below 9 stone that the tummy fat is finally going. 🙁
I think scrawny is healthy 😆 Forget the old addege “big is beautiful”.

Good on you RT. I’m really only on this to keep my OH healthy. Would you believe, I didn’t even realise I was fat! He has now lost 33kg and has been off all diabetes drugs for months (although the over imbibing while we were away was close). He knows he can only regulate his blood sugars with food (ie 2 fasts a week and semi fasts on other days if his bs rises at all). He simply cannot risk ever letting up, so we happily accept this as our healthy new way of life because the alternative doesn’t bear thinking about. P

Purple Vegie Eater

9:56 pm
3 Jan 15
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An afterthought. ..
Fat drops off faces, shoulders, chest and arms early on. They are the bits that may appear “scrawny”. Continued weight loss (to a good healthy level eg the middle of recommeded for height) doesn’t mean your face loses any more. The fat starts coming off the internals. Frustrating, but reality. To be healthy on the inside, we oldies end up bony on the outside. Of course Jojo with your hours and hours of workouts will not have this issue. Your toned muscles will look stunning 😉 P

Amazon

10:08 pm
3 Jan 15
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I’m going to have to rack up a few more hours of workouts too. Having said that, I’d rather look a bit scrawny and be fit and healthy than go back to the way I was.

Purple Vegie Eater

10:12 pm
3 Jan 15
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That’s what I figure Amazon. I took your advice yesterday by adding more water 😉
….I stayed in the pool almost all day with the grandkids. P 😆

Amazon

10:16 pm
3 Jan 15
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Aussie Oma

10:56 pm
3 Jan 15
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Good morning fellow fast-trackers … RT glad to hear things are under control down your way. We’ve got the smell of smoke here this morning but it’s still a long way from us thank goodness. I must admit that soup IS lovely. I am not able to tolerate orange veggies so I don’t add them in (never have since a kid and so won’t take the chance now). I reckon if I have soup on FD’s for dinner/tea I will achieve the 2 lb loss most weeks. We’ll see if I’m right or wrong,

PVE love the more water result, ha ha ha 😀

FoodA (hope you don’t mind me shortening your name) as the others have said this WOL should not create any issues with food/binge eating as we only restrict 2 days/week and can eat much more on the other days. I find that totally restricting every day is not doable and in fact has often slowed my losses after looking back over the weeks. One thing I will be doing is keeping a diary of how many calories I consumed each day, how I felt, did I achieve a full FD or only a semi-FD, I will also weigh in between my weigh in day (which is Friday btw) but only use the weigh day weight for progress as that day I will also measure myself. As others have done I’m going to check what my goal weight TDEE and BMR will be and start working my way down to that intake so that when I’m there I won’t need to change things other than only having one FD instead of two. If I’ve over indulged I have been known to have an extra FD if I feel I need to, but generally two is ample – my days are Tuesday and Thursday with an occasional semi-FD (usually either Mon or Wed) so that weekends are not restricted and I can have what I want but I find that I don’t generally go over 1,200 calories on either day as I just adjust where needed even without thinking about it now whereas in the beginning I was thinking about everything and now it’s just 2nd nature which you will probably find happens to you too, mind you I have been doing this WOL for 3 1/2 months now.

Smiffy glad to hear from you too. Wee I hope you’re continuing to improve pain wise. Amazon, Jojo, Nicky, Emel, Nama, SAMM, Lori, Bay and everyone else good to hear from you all too. PVE I reckon you’re on the money re scrawny, but also if we keep going eventually as well the skin tones and people get used to how we look so those comments also cease 😀 .

Have to run for now, hopefully back online later today 😀 happy fasting/non-fasting to each and every one of you 😀

Nama

11:27 pm
3 Jan 15
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Hello all,

Beautiful cool morning in Melbourne, lovely steady rain most of the night. I hope the weather man is wrong re catastrophic weather returning to SA by Wed, things could get so much worse for you all. Comespring how are things in your area, haven’t heard from you so hoping all ok….gathered you are in the Adelaide Hills area? Nicky did you manage to have your gathering? At least we know AO and RT are safe!

Jojo I also thought FoodAddict was spot on mentioning the “quest” component….you were a smart little cookie naming this thread! Good luck with your evening out/not eating. Maybe it will be easier than trying to make good choices, just keep filling your glass with soda.

Hi Smiffy, glad to know you are in the land of the living (your words!). I think I am like most females, ie vain re my appearance (we can’t help it we were conditioned as little girls!) and have also had concerns re becoming too scrawny. I am way too lazy to use Jojo’s exercise methods to stay toned! I think the layer of fat had slowed the aging appearance and padded out the wrinkles which I can now see, but I think I have to accept them (will never embrace them) and press on. I like Purples word….we oldies become ‘bony’ (behave RT!) on the outside! To me a scrawny, skinny or bony person looks much healthier than a fat one,especially if they have a smile on their face. Not a smug, self satisfied smile, but a happy to be alive smile!

Glad you are getting so much water Purple, you must now be scrawny, bony AND wrinkly after all that time submerged!

Purple Vegie Eater

11:33 pm
3 Jan 15
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😆
Happy alive smile Nama!!!

weemam

11:42 pm
3 Jan 15
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Hiya guys .
I am feeling a lot more ME tonight . I had a shower this morning but couldn’t get my legs dried as I couldn’t bend down . Was laughing with my OH that we will have to do this for each other ” when we get auld” lol . I am 73 this year and him 76 BUT age is only a number .

I have actually done 3 fasts as the pain was making me feel sick and I didn’t want to eat . .

I forgot to say that I made my first ever butternut squash soup last week and it was amazing .

OH cut up a butternut squash for me today as it was hurting my back trying to chop it . I will be making more tomorrow .

sorry I haven’t been posting BUT I have read every post . I love reading the posts .

Take care everyone and

LANG MAY YER LUM REEK 🙂 🙂 🙂

Wee xx

Lynette J

11:48 pm
3 Jan 15
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Do you have any tips on how to cook butternut squash. Sort of not sure how to tackle this one. I do like butternut squash but need a little advice on cooking it. Do you have the butternut squash soup recipe.

Thanks

Lynette J

Nama

12:07 am
4 Jan 15
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Lynette Weeman may be able to post a recipe for you, afraid I can’t as I make mine up! Just peel and deseed the squash, then chop it up. Cook it in stock til tender, with whatever other veggies you prefer. I put in lots of onion and garlic. Season well. Some grated apple and nutmeg is also good as sometimes the squash (we call it butternut pumpkin in Aus) can be tasteless, depends on ripeness, season etc. Then blend it smooth to your preferred thickness. Can add more water or stock if you like. To calculate calories, weigh the squash and any other veggies you use before cooking, add these all up then divide by the number of serves you end up with = cals per serve. Just add in cals for anything you use, even stock. It’s a nice thick filling soup and you can play around with ingredients with whatever you like. We have pumpkins in Aus called Jap or Kent, I find these have more flavour than Butternut. Also if not fasting, a dollop of sour cream or cream is nice when you serve it. Sometimes I throw in a can of reduced fat evaporated milk before I blend it, gives a creamier taste with minimal extra cals. Hope yours turns out well, if not, keep experimenting!

annette52

12:10 am
4 Jan 15
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I will cook a roast dinner tomorrow and will put the whole butternut squash on the floor of the oven to cook for about an hour and a half. Then cut it in half, scrape out the seeds and discard those.Then using a knife making criss cross cuts(not right through the flesh)and then scoop the flesh off to be eaten.

I add the cooked butternut squash to any cooked vegetables that I like in some chicken stock or water, bring to the boil and simmer for a few minutes until it is thick or runny as you like. You may need to add salt and pepper to taste.I throw in some herbs from the garden if I remember. I then put it all into a food processor and blitz until smooth, leave to cool and then put in individual portions in containers in the freezer. Homemade stock is just a chicken carcass, water to cover, vegetable peelings and sad/wilted veg and simmer for 3 hours. Strain, cool and then I freeze that in similar size boxes too.

You can also peel, chop similar size vegetables from fresh, cover with water and boil for about 10 mins, add the cooked butternut squash, and then blitz or mash together. I have just started making soup and it is a doddle and much much cheaper and tastier than anything I have bought.And you can use up sad veg near the end of their life without wasting them.

weemam

12:11 am
4 Jan 15
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I am just signing out for the night but will post it tomorrow . after midnight now 🙂 🙂

AOYP everyone

Wee xx

Purple Vegie Eater

12:32 am
4 Jan 15
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Hope your pain has eased when you wake, dear Wee. 🙂
Purple

jojo58

1:48 am
4 Jan 15
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A very late night for me but I thought I would add my thoughts before bedtime.

Firstly ‘No more compliments for me please’ we are a team here, this thread is a success because of ‘all’ it’s contributors. Also I am probably the least effective weight loser over the last six months, been yoyoing constantly. I talk a good fast but that’s usually it.

Secondly – butternut squash soup is best made with added chilli, pepper and potato to make it less sweet. I live on it, it is delicious. I make a different soup weekly, try spicey parsnip with ginger, drooling as we speak. Google ‘soup recipes’ millions out there.

Thirdly – I took a lot of flack at the party for not eating tonight or drinking alcohol. However I said ‘ do you think I look better than this time last year?’ Well guess what? It’s because I can now say ‘No’ and mean it. I really feel empowered and proud that I can resist temptation and pressure from friends now. When I told them I feel like a teenager and love every minute of my lifestyle they were pretty gobsmacked.

Fourthly- I am loving 19/5, I so wish I had discovered it earlier, it’s incredible, let’s hope it works.

Lastly – as most of my exercise is not ‘intensive’ I am not sadly very toned, just strong and flabby. Sorry to disappoint you but just being honest. Currently looking for a gym partner to help me do some toning. I think things will improve when body fat ratio acceptable, at least two stone from that scenario (14 weeks of challenge). God I so want to start running Ply, it is a really intense urge, so tempted to ignore the specialists and go for it but I also know if my hip plays up other exercise will be curtailed, vicious circle.

Goodnight lovely people.