Thanks for the links RT. I have just fired the Tedtalks over to my son. He refuses to believe that there is good science behind this way of life. Having the chief neuroscience research at John Hopkins puts a bit of weight behind what I am saying.

Happy, I think graham crackers are similar to digestives? Does that sound any better?

Really enjoyed that Tedx talk, RT!

So glad to hear all your good news, Wee!

Tangawiwi, I hope you get some positive news and explanation soon.

Purple, so glad you enjoyed Boston. We were so ready for spring after the record-breakin snow this winter!

Last day of school tomorrow! I am gearing up for my son’s graduation party on Saturday. 60 people coming to my house! I love planning and prepping for parties! Mostly healthy stuff on the menu, of course! Hearty appetizers, bruschetta bar, including vegetarian options. Main dishes are fancy grilled flatbreads, again with lots of veggies, and a few different salads. A variety of desserts, but all mini-sized! Key lime pies, strawberry shortcakes, cannoli, and chocolate mousse. I have lots of fun themed decorations as well. Can’t wait!

My car broke down on my way to work yesterday. Engine seized from a seeming lack of oil, even though I had it changed the night before! Too coincidental not to be connected. The shop is still checking it out, but I am pretty sure it is well and truly dead. A new engine is thousands of dollars, so it may be time for a new (to me) car. We had hoped to make this one last another couple of years!

Good morning/evening all

It has been a busy time since we got home from Wales a few days ago, so only just catching up.

Heartening news Wiwi and Wee. So pleased things are looking positive for you both.

Hello Newbie – stick with us and keep us posted on your progress. You will find all the help and motivation you need here.

Ply – sorry to hear about the sad demise of your car. Hope you find a nice replacement. Your family party sounds great – what a brilliant hostess you are, but I hope you have some help will all that prep for 60 people!

Jojo – so sorry to hear you are still stuck. Those meds are a wretched nuisance. The body also retains fluid when the weather is particularly warm.

I’ve read information similar to Bay, in that the non-fast days should not be too calorie restrictive for any length of time and having a ‘normal’ eating day before a fast is more beneficial. That said I am now on my second fast day of week 2 of the Fast Beach diet and keeping to around 1200-1400 calories on non-fast days, but only for the 6 week programme.

It’s another warm day here and we are going to be busy catching up on the gardening. OH is going to have to be surgically removed from the mower! It’s our turn to host our monthly neighbourhood get-together tomorrow night which is always good fun, and I will be stretching my calorie allowance to include a few glasses of wine!

Have a great day/evening all

Smiffy xx

Hey everyone thank you for the welcome! It seems like a nice little family you have got going here!

For me : Fast Day today, first one!
dinner: chicken fillet with cup of veggies (broccoli & carrots)
I am not sure how many calories that is but it cant be bad ?!? can it? 😉

To be honest the day wasn’t so bad BUT now that I have eaten I want to continue eating LOL.

I am waiting for my cycle to arrive so I’m unsure that my weights will be accurate for this and next week.

Hi Fast Trackers
Nicky Emel comespring and Aussie O in South Australia Nama & Keirra in Victoria Bay in ACT PVE in NSW WiWi in France & Barata in NZ and Jojo SAMM HappyNow Amazon Herm Lizzy Ply Tartan lass Smiffy Lor_PA CakeyWakey Sarah103 HealthCoachB and Hello World (You All Know Who You Are) 😉
Excellent game of AFL last night could have gone either way really Travis no score ? always tough over there though.
Friday funny

This is the true story of George Phillips of Meridian, Mississippi, who was going to bed when his wife told him that he’d left the light on in the shed. George opened the door to go turn off the light but saw there were people in the shed in the process of stealing things.

He immediately phoned the police, who asked, “Is someone in your house?” and George said, “No,” and explained the situation. Then they explained that all patrols were busy, and that he should simply lock his door and an officer would be there when available.

George said, “Okay,” hung up, counted to 30, and phoned the police again.

“Hello, I just called you a few seconds ago because there were people in my shed. Well, you don’t have to worry about them now because I’ve just shot them all.”

Then he hung up. Within five minutes three squad cars, an Armed Response unit, and an ambulance showed up. Of course, the police caught the burglars red-handed.

One of the policemen said to George, “I thought you said that you’d shot them!”

George said, “I thought you said there was nobody available!”

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There was an elderly couple who in their old age noticed that they were getting a lot more forgetful, so they decided to go to the doctor. The doctor told them that they should start writing things down so they don’t forget. They went home and the old lady told her husband to get her a bowl of ice cream. “You might want to write it down,” she said. The husband said, “No, I can remember that you want a bowl of ice cream.” She then told her husband she wanted a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream. “Write it down,” she told him, and again he said, “No, no, I can remember: you want a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream.” Then the old lady said she wants a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry on top. “Write it down,” she told her husband and again he said, “No, I got it. You want a bowl of ice cream with whipped cream and a cherry on top.” So he goes to get the ice cream and spends an unusually long time in the kitchen, over 30 minutes. He comes out to his wife and hands her a plate of eggs and bacon. The old wife stares at the plate for a moment, then looks at her husband and asks, “Where’s the toast?”

#################################################################################

So two Irishmen are traveling to Australia. Before they leave home, one of their dads gives them both a bit of advice: “You watch them Aussie cab drivers. They’ll rob you blind. Don’t you go paying them what they ask. You haggle.” At the Sydney airport, the Irishmen catch a cab to their hotel. When they reach their destination, the cabbie says, “That’ll be twenty dollars, lads.” “Oh no you don’t! My dad warned me about you. You’ll only be getting fifteen dollars from me,” says one of the men. “And you’ll only be getting fifteen from me too,” adds the other.
Have a great weekend you losers 😉
Peace RT

Jojo, would they have been worth the effort if someone else had cooked them? I ask as my OH is the chip cook in our house 🙂

How were the white shorts? Hope you wore a pinny!

Good morning all and belated welcome to Newbie. You’re right, we have formed a great supportive team with members all over the world, thanks to Jojo’s initiative and continued attention.

Nama, your boys played well and commiserations. However, not entirely unhappy with the result as have had a soft spot for Matthew Pavlich since he was a talented kid from the western suburbs in the juniors. Please will you continue to talk to me? 😉 Definitely soup weather. I bought the ‘doings’ yesterday and OH asked to be shown how to make it. Talk about deep secrets of the universe!!! We now have about 5L of mixed veg in chicken stock cooking for today’s lunch – and many more. 🙂

RT, thanks for jokes.

Jojo, chucky chips? 😆 Nearly as good a slip as RT’s Bugger King. I agree with Purple, make a salad next time – nowhere near as much mucking around.

Ply, ditto other comments – what a brave woman! Your son and his friends will have a memorable graduation party due to your efforts, on top of term end for you. I used to fall into a heap after the final push of marking what always seems like Everests of assignments and tests. Enjoy your summer break – well deserved.

Happy, enjoy your neighbourhood get-together. Is your mower a ride-on? If that’s the case, I can understand Mr Happy’s reluctance to stop. Much better than a push motor mower, or even a self-propelled powered variety.

After several days of feeling very second-hand, my cold is definitely on the run. Finished my TAFE marking commitments on Wednesday (all passed except for one slack sod who failed to hand in assignments, despite lots of nagging and extensions – will I never learn?). Then went to weights and despite sniffles managed PBs on leg press (109kg x5 reps – ~30kg more than I weigh!!!), lateral pulldown (45kg x8) and bench press (35kg bar x5) – halo being polished as I type. No fasting this week but at least no gain so very pleased all round.

Take care all and keep up the good work. Collectively, your blood’s worth bottling, as my Dad would have said. n xxx

Another newcomer in the family – our latest grandson was born in Sydney yesterday. Mum and baby tired but well, and mum was 😯 allowed to stay in hospital over-night! So that’s four grandboys and one grand girl from our three children. It’s not quite as unbalanced as my brother’s grandies – his are five to one!

Definitely soup weather in this hemisphere – mine is bubbling away nicely.

Go for the salad option, Jojo, all sorts of wonderful combinations to wow the guests. Sorry to hear that dratted plateau is sticking, but as long as you know that the painkillers are responsible you know there is a solution out there – just that you are stuck in a catch-22 between pain and weight-loss.

It’s good to hear positive news about your grandson, Wiwi. Such an anxious time when there is no diagnosis, but as you say, as time goes on the worries become less. Enjoy your lovely weather and garden. You probably keep up with our news and know about the cold and floods that have been hitting parts of the country.

Cheers, all. B

Good morning/evening all

Nicky – Glad to hear you are on the mend. it’s actually me having the neighbourhood get-together this evening. Yes, OH does have a ride-on mower and spent most of yesterday on it!

A good FD for me yesterday – mainly water all day then a lovely Italian chilli prawn recipe courtesy of Jamie O, with Zero rice. Weighed this morning at the end of my second week of FBD – 1.5 lbs off. Very pleased as I have now finally lost the 4 lbs which have been coming and going since Christmas.

Jojo – you know me so well! Mimi Spencer does recommend giving up alcohol completely for the 6 weeks, but also says that if you can’t give up completely, then drink “in a more controlled way”. I actually haven’t drunk most nights since starting the programme, and certainly not on fast days, but I do enjoy a glass or two with a nice meal, especially OH’s Sunday roast, so have been indulging (“in a more controlled way”, of course) at weekends.

It hasn’t been easy in this lovely warm spell we are having – sorry SH’s!), as I love nothing more than sitting in the garden with a glass of something dry, white and chilled on a sunny evening, but have substituted spicy tomato juice with ice and lemon, which I really enjoy. It looks as if we are In a real heatwave next week. 30c on Wednesday, so the chilled white will almost definitely make an appearance! I know some of you in the rest if the world are used to those temperatures, but we are certainly not!

Nama – so sorry to hear about your finger-slicing incident. Mandolins can be vicious things! But oh, so useful, especially for making decidedly non-fast day things like Dauphinoise potatoes! It’s great having an OH who can help with meal preparation.. However much one loves cooking, as I do, it’s lovely to have a rest from it occasionally. Sunday is when he takes over completely and does a roast, and it’s definitely never a fast day – his roast potatoes are to die for!

Congratulations on the new grandson Barata.

Have a great day/evening all.

Smiffy xx

Jojo…hope the new stretches will do the trick. Sounds like you have a good Physio working with you.

Busy weekend around here and unfortunately, the weather is not going to cooperate. Big parade in our little town tomorrow that will probably be a wash out as pouring rain is forecast. I feel bad for all the people who put so much time and effort into making it nice. Nothing to be done, but it’s a shame anyway. Fireworks tonight should be ok as the rain comes early tomorrow morning.

3 sessions of boot camp done this week plus 2 days of run/walk. I’m tired!

Have a good weekend all!

Evening all.
I got back an hour ago from a really lovely four days in Bruges. Lots of walking, lots of fun, lots of food and lots of beer. It was raining when we areived on Monday afternoon, but the weather has been fab since then, getting hotter every day. I’m tired but relaxed and looking forward to a FD tomorrow.

Sarah, congratulations on quitting your gum habit! What should you change next? You’ll have to tell us about your other vices/weaknesses if we’re going to answer that…!

Hi Amazon, welcome home! Sounds like you had a great time. You’ll have to tell us more! Are you off to Wimbledon next week? Just seen the mid week forecast. Scorchio!

HCB, great news that you’re losing weight. When you say you’re sleeping better though…think I’d perhaps rather sleep badly than dream about trying to recruit 600lb people to 5:2!

Jojo, great news that you’ve got a physio and plan of action. Has your new mattress arrived yet? Or is that going straight to your new (old?) place?

Hello Everyone,
Amazon- welcome home, I look forward to fast days too.
HCB-I dream about work everynight, I wish I didn’t. Sometimes it is ok but I need a different focus. By the way I think achieving goals is important.. congratulations. What is your next goal?
I know this might seem silly but I have been eating peanutbutter, unsweetened chocolate, and coconut oil every night. The peanutbutter is a slippery slope for me, so I think I going to take it out for the next 21 days and replace it with a healthy veg. smoothy with unsweetened chocolate in it.
Barata- tae-kwando is something I might do when I am 50, I know I need to continue learning to keep my brain active. I am focused right now on getting more balance and strength for backpacking. I have been walking the bleachers for 8 min. at least once a week and doing core exercises. I bought 3 yoga classes, so I am going to go at least once per week.
Good night everyone.

No problem with the brain activity, Sarah. I’m working in a challenging job, and am fortunate that I can continue as long as I want, currently on four days a week but could cut this back to three in due course. No risk of redundancy, either, as we are short-staffed. 🙂

Morning/evening all.
It is a beautiful hot and sunny day here and I’m pleased to see it is going to continue 😛

I was very tired last night and slept very well. Going away is fab but being back in your own bed is always so nice. I needed the rest as we walked at least 10K every day,and there are lots of cobbles everywhere which makes it a real workout. We even spent yesterday morning walking before leaving for the station at lunchtime.

On Tuesday we climbed the 400 steps of the bell tower in the main square which was a mini workout up a narrow spiral staircase. The views it afforded and being at the top when the bells started to ring made it worth every step. The feeling it gave me when I got to the top having only stopped once and not gasping for breath was priceless!

New bells have been cast in recent years and there was a video being shown to demonstrate the work done. Music is played using an enormous old drum style machine with huge brass pegs to play the notes. The tunes are changed once every two years as it is a major task to do do. It was fascinating.
We visited numerous museums, the site of an old hospital that had been there since the 12th century and remained so until fairly recently was particularly interesting for me, especially with its display of ancient and occasionally somewhat terrifying medical instruments and paintings of post mortems….eek!
There is a hotel that was built in the 1990s and when they were digging in order to lay the foundations an old wall was discovered. It turned out to be the wall of a 10th century church and monastery that was there for several centuries and added to. The site was huge and the original building was accessed by an oak bridge across a moat. Permission was given to go ahead with building the new gotel if they agreed to diplay the site and averything found by archeologists free to the public, so the basement of the hotel is a huge museum, with very large areas of the original wall, including some tombs forming the boundaries of the area. They use it as a conference centre and we were unable to visit on Thursday as there was one in progress so we returned yesterday. We had no idea how extensive it was and thought we would be there for 10 minutes rather than the 50 it took us to see everything.

We went on a canal ride which was very enjoyable as it gives a different perspective. We were very pleased to discover that once away from the main sights it was very quiet with hardly anyone around. There is a walk in the Northern part of Bruges that takes in four ancient windmills and stunning views along the canals, and we hardly saw a soul most of the time. There was also plenty of time to stop for a coffee or to sample one of the fine beers on offer, there are over 1000 brewed in Belgium so no chance of trying them all!
I tried a waffle. I’ve never eaten one before and it was much lighter and far less sweet than I expected. I had it for lunch rather than as well as! The food was excellent. There are lots of things cooked in beer, my friend had the beef and I tried rabbit with prines in beer and it was delicious. It is traditional toserve these dished with fries and salad…… The Belgians claim to have invented fries, I’m not sure if that is true but there is a frites museum 😆
There are numerous ice cream parlours, but as I had some with some dessert I decided I need to try any more of it.
There is a lot of very frest North Sea fish and seafood, the coast is only 15k away, so we went to fish restaurants on two out of four nights. I had the biggest pot of mussels I’ve ever seen one night and the other started with oysters followed by sole in a lobster sauce with prawns and mussels.
The breakfasts in the hotel were a hot and cold buffet with everything including smoked salmon and champagne. I stuck to fruit salad and yoghurt sprinkled with a spoonful of muesli for 3 out of 4 mornings, and on the last morning tried some of the meats, cheeses and breads on offer with a small helping of smoked salmon 😉
I realised that I am nowhere near free of my old eating habits and it would have been easy to fall back into eating non stop every day. One of the things that stopped me was the huge number of obese and very obese people around eating enormous amounts. Some of our fellow hotel guests ate four or five times the amount we had for breakfast and it gave me a jolt to realise that previously I would have eaten that amount and more and thought nothing of it.

The citizens of Brugge were all very nice, friendly and helpful and considering the majority of those we met spent their time dealing with tourists it was nice ro see how much they enjoyed it. Several times we were out somewhere looking at our map and one of them would stop and ask us if we needed help. It was great to come home with such positive experiences.

I am not going to weigh myself. I am fasting today which is going to be difficult as I’m hungry already, but I am determined to succeed and get back into the 4:3 habit a.s.a.p.

Have a good day/evening everyone.

Happy,
I am now looking forward to Wimbledon viewed from the comfort of my sofa 😛

Sounds like a great trip Amazon.
Interesting idea re measuring happiness Jojo 🙂
Oh Nama. You are going to have to get rid of that mandolin! I’ve hardly used mine since your first finger slicing episode. Hope it heals quickly. P

I decided that I’m far too clumsy to use a mandolin. I have enough accidents using a sharp knife!

Hi TAITY and welcome. The best advice is buy the book. It will tell you everything you need to know about following 5:2. This website is great for support and encouragement, but it’ll be much easier for you if you have read the book, and have it to refer to.

Hi TAITY and welcome:

This thread will answer most of your questions and explain how 5:2 works: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/

Good Luck!

Amazon, Thanks for the detailed trip report. You’ve sold it to me, where can I sign up? Are you working on commission from the Bruges tourist board? You should be 🙂

P, perhaps Nama doesn’t need to get rid of the mandolin… She just needs an electric one. Because then it’s officially a power tool. And only men are capable of operating power tools 🙂

Hello all,

Crisp but sunny Melbourne morning, hope it lasts!

Amazon your trip sounded great, thanks for the detail, its fascinating. Also lovely to hear that the locals were friendly, that makes such a difference. The Parisian citizens were pretty impatient when I was there and it does not leave a good impression. Understandable when they are dealing with tourists all the time, but not good for future business. Fantastic re climbing the bell tower, I can relate to that! Good luck re getting back on the horse. You will do it as you are motivated and you know exactly what to do. I agree re seeing other people who are really obese is good motivation to be healthy.

Finger ok thanks Purple and Smiffy and no Happy, I wont be parting with my best friend! Its been invaluable, I use it most days and dont know how I managed without it! I was trying to save time and had about 4 stalks of celery together, which were too long to use the hand pusher thingy. Unfortunately my hand slipped down the (wet) celery, ouch, big slice of finger and fingernail too this time! I have been looking on ebay and am going to buy a butchers metal glove – seriously! There are some from China for under $10. Husband is always busy when I am cooking, I would need to make an appointment with him to get him into the kitchen, then it woud end in an argument about how veg are to be chopped! Only problem is this time its the middle finger and as its the longest, it gets in the way and I keep bashing it every time I reach for something, such a klutz! Hoping pain is a good teacher!

Jojo I hope you learn something with your new “happiness” measurement technique. Good Luck with it. I dont think I will do it, but will be interested in how you go. Personally I just love food and eating. As Amazon says, its just greed! You are right, its easy through the day when busy, but harder in the evening when less busy and tired. Just saying that makes me more determined!

Cheers, have a lovely day all x

Hi Everyone,
Barata I did not mean you need more brain activity, my mom at 69 was diagnosed with Alzheimers, I was talking about myself. I need to keep my brain working well.
Nama-You do alot of activity compared to me. I might do a long hike once a month and 20 minutes per day but that is it. Is yoga considered exercise? Oh I do teach PE for two hours a week during the school year, but thats me giving more directions than moving.

Jo-jo: I am interested in the happiness journal. How much do I need to write?
HCB: I am sorry you lost your post. Maybe tomorrow.

I had an ok day. Hubby has been home now for 10 days and will go back to work on Monday. I am use to more time to myself. It has been so hot here, we have not been able to get to the yard work. Hoping to watch a comedy tonight before bed.
Good night all.

Barata, are you going to the rugby final??
congratulations on new wee grandy. The word “feijoa” gives me some regret- my favourite fruit. I hope you are surviving the atrocious NZ winter. Here a heat wave is forecast for next week. Even here at 1000metres, up to 34° is forecast.

I have finished the 5 day mimic fast and it was great. RT, your ‘ no food tastes as good as thin” was omnipresent in my mind. But the fast is doable and a very good kick-restart to fasting. I feel great after that. In fact when I was really hungry I went out to the garden and nibbled the new leaves of the microgreens and rocket. I mainly just ate salad veges. Now I will go back onto 19:5 for about 9 days and then repeat the fast mimic.
One of you mentioned that it was possible to do this twice a month, can you give me a reference? Thanks in advance!
Amazon, nice mini-break in Bruges. You’ve convinced me.
JoJo, your happiness exercise seems to make sense as you are going through quite a lot of changes at present. Like Nama, I won’t join you. I have the family here in July and won’t have time to think about this. I find that fasting makes me happy.
Our woofers are getting through the work here. The kitchen is set up and the garden fully operational. The next project is our living green wall onto a wall of the house. I do spend a lot of time cooking, but that’s ok as hey are great.
Talk soon.
XX Wiwi