Thanks, Amazon, I will pass that on.
Is there anything better than the virtuous feeling one gets after a morning workout? Enjoy the caffeine! Morning coffee is the one thing I will never give up!

Hi Ply
Fremantle, Cottesloe Beach and Kings Park are the best spots with limited time. Kalamunda in the Perth Hills is another favourite. Warn him it can be VERY hot in Perth. I hope he enjoys it.

As to losing weight in maintenance….SO much harder to drop than those initial months of 5:2!!! The quantity of food one requires, when lighter, is SO much less than upkeeping bigger bodies. I guess that’s why it’s so easy to be fat! It takes quite a shock for the body to burn up any stored fat when you have so much less to burn. 😕 Patience and constant vigilance seem the way to long term losing those last kgs.
Have a happy Hump Day folks. 😀 P

Thanks for the Perth tourism tips, I sent them on to my brother and sister-in-law.

Thanks also, Bay and Purple, for the maintenance loss reports. They were as I expectedl!

Finished Day 1 of BSD. The Green Tea and Blieberry Breakfast shake was horrible, but I managed to finish it and it staved off hunger for most of the afternoon. Lunch of red peppers stuffed with tomatoes, cucumbers, cilantro, mint, pomegranate seeds, and feta was absolutely delicious, but the Aubergine with Lamb and Pomegranate was unbelievably good! I used the filling to make hubby some “tacos” on mini flatbreads with spinach, roasted tomatoes, feta, and tzatziki sauce. It is sometimes a challenge to adapt what I am eating for him, but this one was easy.

All in all, a very satisfying 800 calories.

Amazon, you are killing it lately! The halo must be shining itself! 👼🏼

Well done, Ply

You’re a star 💐💐💐💐
Re your breakfast, I can’t stand food turned into shakes. I like to chew and crunch. I’m so glad you were our Guinea pig on the BSD. I’m looking for the options that have eggs or salmon or beans etc.

Congratulations, Amazon. 🌷🌷

Afternoon all,

I’ve been out for a walk in Kew Gardens and it was lovely. Daffodils, crocii and snowdrops in bloom everywhere and hundreds of bluebells poking theirleves through the grass.

Thanks ply and Bay, I’m so pleased to have started losing weight again.

I don’t like green tea so would have avoided the breakfast shake and gone for a savoury option.

Hi Jojo,

I read an article this morning about the sugar in drinks from coffee chains.
I love coffee and tea and am glad that I gave taking either with sugar when I was in my 20s.
It seems to me that a large percentage of those who frequent coffee shops don’t actually like coffee as they opt for very milky and/or flavoured concoctions. Give me an Americano or an espresso any day.

I had a pub lunch today, fish and chips and a beer sitting by a roaring fire. It was delicious. I’ve not had anything else today so within TDEE.
I bought sushi for my FD dinner tomorrow 🙂

Ply,

I didn’t find the last few lbs any harder than the first few (and I dropped 3kg below my 63kg goal before I managed to stop losing and start maintaining).

Since getting to goal it’s mostly been pretty easy to maintain my weight, and even now at 59kg it’s still pretty easy to lose weight (hence why I don’t necessarily fast every week).

The key for me was cutting added sugar from my diet – I didn’t have any from Jan to April 2014, when I reached goal, and now have added sugar perhaps 2 days a week max, and then below the daily recommended limit; and reducing simple carbs to a minimum – most weeks I have at most 4 slices of bread, pasta/ rice once a week and white potatoes perhaps once or twice, and then smaller portions than pre-5:2.

Having cut them out completely to begin with, I’ve now added them back and seem to have found the level and frequency of sugar and carbs that my body can tolerate/ accommodate.

Hi Ply,

Good question!

Obviously, the biggies like cake, biscuits, chocolate, sweets of any kind, etc. Shop-made breads.

No fruit juice. No baked beans. No jam. Natural yoghurt only, no fruit yoghurt as they mostly have sugar added as well as fruit. I do eat fruit, but probably not every day now, and sometimes have a fruit and nut mix.

I cook everything pretty much from scratch, so no pre-made sauces, and don’t use sugar. I do use mayo to make coleslaw though, and there’s sugar in that (just checked! Less than 0.5g/ 14g 🙂 )

I do make biscuits at weekends, but not every weekend. And I do eat desserts when we’re entertaining or with friends, but rarely eat anything mass produced/ shop bought (it just doesn’t tempt me anymore, as I know it will be sickly sweet).

I’m just lucky my tastes have changed with fasting, and it’s nearly always savoury foods I crave now.

Hello everyone,
Rt thank you for sharing.
Jo-jo great job on not eating ice cream. My son made cupcakes and left them on the counter. They are as you say poison.
HappyNow. I like your definition of added sugar.
I really made it to 48 hours of fasting, and I am not hungry. I went to yoga and I do not even feel tired. Actually it seems like I have more energy than ever. But the wind is blowing over 30mph out side. That could be giving me energy. I really wanted to make it to 72 hours but that will be next time. I am going to go to bed so will not eat until the morning. So 50 hours will have to be it this time, it was a pleasant experience. I can see if planned out well we can do anything.
Have an awesome evening everyone.

Very true Jo, cutting out sugar (and simple carbs that break down to sugars) is what cures us of sugar addiction…or at least allows us to control it.

Don’t underestimate the power of the fast day though. When I eat sugar at the weekend, there is nothing like a fast on a Monday to put a brake on the inevitable urge to eat more sugar!

Morning/evening all,

Happy thanks for the lowdown on how you cut out added sugar.
I’ve given it up for Lent mainly as a way of saying no to cakes, desserts etc. I’ve stopped having chutney or sauces that contain sugar but am eating my FD sweet and sour chicken portions which contain a small amount tomato ketchup.
As I’ve given up bread too it is definitely low carb although sushi rice is on the menu today. I’ve taken the decision to do this in order to get my non FD eating under control and so far so good.
I’ve already given up fruit juice and flavoured yoghurts, I tried one on the plane 😝

When I went into a shop yesterday which is set out so that customers have to walk through the bakery first, I found the sweet smell quite nauseating and it was easy to ignore everything whereas previously I would have definitely bought something and it would have been gone before I got home!

I never snacked as I used to eat non stop until finishing dinner. I never got into the habit of watching TV in the evenings and grazing, and I’ve not bought snacks at the cinema since I was a teenager. I usually have a glass of wine or a G&T if I go to the theatre but apart from that I’ve never bothered because everything is so expensive.

When I was on holiday, I was the only one who didn’t go into the shop at service stations and come out with a bag of snacks to eat on the bus. I was surrounding by the sound of rustling and munching usually followed by snoring 😆

FD today but no gym as I’ve woken up with a stiff neck. It’s been a bit sore for a few days and I’ve been stretching it but a day of rest, a heat pack and some anti inflammatories are in order.

Have a good one everybody 😜

Penti, your outlook and determination fit perfectly in this thread! I am a wine drinker and snacker at night as well. It’s a hard habit to break. I am changing my habit to drinking tea at night also, and finding some distraction…Jojo’s coloring or knitting are good because they keep the hands busy and you must keep your hands clean or ruin your work!
Thanks for the detail, Happy. I will never get my husband away from his morning sweets, but I am not tempted by his daily doughnut, muffin, or cinnamon roll. He is annoyingly skinny despite this habit!
I don’t do Lent, but I am giving up wine except for true social occasions, and Thursday night on the couch watching Scandal is not one! The next family get-together is on the 27th, and I will be bringing beautiful vegetable crudités to snack on.
RT, you have definitely conquered your snacking demons! I have never been a beer drinker, and choices of food to buy at work are not very tempting. It seems that folks used to bring leftover sweets from home to the break room so there was something there all the time, but that has become a rare occasion. Perhaps everyone is getting on the healthy bandwagon!
Breakfast today is a low-carb Bircher, which I had never heard of, but it’s yogurt, nuts, seeds, and a few raisins. Looking forward to lunch of beet falafels, and a veg frittata for dinner!
I’ve got two portions of veg curry with cauliflower rice, and 2 servings of the lamb for stuffed Aubergine in the freezer already for nights when I can’t cook.
Have a great day everyone!

Hello Fast Trackers
Nicky Emel and Aussie O in South Australia Nama in Victoria Bay in ACT PVE in NSW WiWi & Barata in NZ and Jojo SAMM HappyNow Amazon Herm Lizzy Ply Tartan lass Smiffy Lor_PA CakeyWakey Sarah103 HealthCoachB Tessy pen nib Iona72 Pentimento pranayama and Hello World (You All know Who You ARE) 😉
Genuine complaints received by councils
1) My bush is really overgrown round the front and my back passage has
fungus growing in it.
0

2) … and he’s got this huge tool that vibrates the whole house and I
just can’t take it anymore.

3) … it’s the dogs mess that I find hard to swallow.

4) I want some repairs done to my cooker as it has backfired and burnt
my knob off.

5) I wish to complain that my father hurt his ankle very badly when he
put his foot in the hole in his back passage.

6) … and their 18 year old son is continually banging his balls
against my fence.

7) I wish to report that tiles are missing from the outside toilet
roof. I think it was bad wind the other night that blew them off.

8) My lavatory seat is cracked, where do I stand?

9) I am writing on behalf of my sink, which is coming away from the
wall.

10) Will you please send someone to mend the garden path. My wife
tripped and fell on it yesterday and now she is pregnant. We are getting
married in September and we would like it in the garden before we move into
the house.

11) I request permission to remove my drawers in the kitchen

12) …50% of the walls are damp, 50% have crumbling plaster and the
rest are plain filthy.

13) I am still having problems with smoke in my new drawers.

14) The toilet is blocked and we cannot bath the children until it is
cleared.

15) Will you please send a man to look at my water, it is a funny colour
and not fit to drink.

16) Our lavatory seat is broken in half and is now in three pieces.

17) Would you please send a man to repair my spout. I am an old age
Pensioner and need it badly.

18) I want to complain about the farmer across the road; every morning
at 6am his cock wakes me up and its now getting too much for me.

19) The man next door has a large erection in the back garden, which is
unsightly and dangerous.

20) Our kitchen floor is damp. We have two children and would like a
third so please send someone round to do something about it.

21) I am a single woman living in a downstairs flat and would you please
do something about the noise made by the man I have on top of me every
night.

22) Please send a man with the right tool to finish the job and satisfy
my wife.

23) I have had the clerk of the works down on the floor six times but I
still have no satisfaction.

24) This is to let you know that our lavatory seat is broke and we can’t
get Channel BBC2 on the TV

Have a happy weekend all you beautiful losers 😉
Peace RT

Oh dear, RT, words fail me!! 😂😂😂😂

Oh, Jo, you have really had a rough time of it with the medical profession of late. I think one of the major factors in high cholesterol is heredity. A dear friend of mine, always quite thin, lots of exercise, and really healthy eating (she was the one who told me about 5:2!) has always had high cholesterol. It will be an interesting “study of one” to see whether the weight loss and low carb/no sugar plan has an effect. More incentive to stick with it, at least!
I find the “everything in moderation” advice infuriating.
I am enjoying their plan immensely! just finished the beet falafel, which was delicious. Not the most appetizing thing I’ve ever seen, but neither is regular falafel, I suppose. I have another serving for the freezer. I may end up skipping dinner, since I had a very late lunch, so toady may turn into a good old-fashioned fast day.
Enjoy those grandchildren, Prana! I am envious!

Greetings, all you lovely fasters. Thanks for those, RT, but you can sympathise with those for whom English is a second language with the intricacies that we have learned from infancy.

When I went in to the medical centre on Wednesday the nurse took my blood pressure – told me I had the BP of a twenty-year-old 🙂 🙂

Jojo, not good news, but we are learning that cholesterol numbers are not as significant as they used to be, particularly as we age. Can’t fight your family history, though, there must be something there, as you say. Good and bad news on your health front. When is the operation?

Our daughter arrived from Sydney yesterday with boyfriend and son, so I will also be doing grandparent duties for the next week or so. Love it, but at work today 🙁

Hi Jo-Jo,
Have you read Cholesterol Clarity by Jimmy Moore. It explains about statins and cholesterol, my doctor recommended it for my mom.
Have a great evening.

Morning/evening all

Another sunny and frosty morning here.

My neck is much better so it’s off to the gym this morning.
Another FD today and then two days of normal eating (whatever that is 😉 )

I have genetically caused very high cholesterol and have been taking statins for over 10 years. Losing weight has not affected it.

Have a good one everybody 😜

A good natural way to reduce hunger on fast days is psyllium husk. It also helps if the higher proteins on fast days have made you a bit constipated. Trouble with some pills, even natural ones, is if they upset the insulin systems you could have more difficulty in the long run eg by putting on weight again later, as getting fatter is caused by the action of insulin in your blood.