Hi all, good posts each and everyone of you, reading this Forum is an ongoing education for me. Sun is out and it’ll be 19+C so more gardening on the work list… WAS going to embrace a FD today but couldn’t just resist a thick slice of fresh baked Irish Soda bread with BOTH butter AND strawberry jam just delicious! (I so love my own cooking)…oh, uhhhhm… correction that was TWO, indulgent, slowly eaten, slices of hot-out-of-the-oven bread, while sitting in the sunshine.
I’m OK with it, no guilt, will just have to walk more this afternoon, eat less calories today and do my FD tomorrow. I’m still calorie-capped on me Food Days at 1,250. BUT, I feel brilliant, wonderful, lighter, even prettier as a matter of fact. Every thing I wear feels a bit loose, I’ve died ‘n gone to Heaven.

What was I THINKING for all those years using food (and drink) as such an ineffective emotional crutch while my body and self-esteem degraded.
Any addiction is bad stuff, it really is; be it Heroin or Food! And WE alone are the biggest tricksters against our own well-being and happiness. And I (personally) believe that no one can tell a better lie then we do to our own ‘self’!

Well folks these are my mid-week thoughts, Stay strong and if you fail just try again.

Ply,

6lbs in 2 weeks… ‘quite pleased…’ What would it take for you to be ‘very pleased’ I wonder… 🙂

Sorry to hear your stomach is still bothering you. Good luck with the doctor.

Good morning fast-trackers.

Just a quick check-in while waiting for OH to get out of the shower so we can go and buy food.

Beetroot falafels sound interesting – looking forward to hearing your opinion Jo.

After 1 month back at work, have lost a total of 3.4kg (7.4lb) in February so ‘well chuffed’, to quote Ply. This is due to diligent FDs of <400cals, up to target TDEE on most non-FDs and only foods with no added sugar. I could get used to this! My usual downfall hereafter is feeling smug and relaxing my guard – not this time!

Thanks for all the posts everyone. Love your work! n xxx

Thanks RT. I hope the Force continues to be strong in me. 😉

Sadly, those kg lost I thought I had lost before, but they were only mislaid. With persistence and focus, that number on the scale will be never seen again.

A few hot days to come. Stay hydrated on your walks.

Thanks also Purple and Happy, our posts crossed.

Nicky (and Ply),

You both deserve to be well chuffed with what you have achieved. You have put in the effort and now reap the rewards. You’re an example to others of what can be achieved, with a bit of determination and discipline.

Amazon!

6lbs in 16 days! Amazing. Step forward and take your place next to Ply and Nicky! Gold stars…fireworks exploding…drum rolls…trumpet fanfares…etc etc

Ha ha, no pressure Jo…just don’t let the side down 🙂

Thanks Happy 😃

I’m so relieved to be losing weight again I hadn’t really thought about how quickly it came off. I expect it to slow down now and that is fine by me. I’m doing much better on non FDs which has IMO made the difference. We won’t talk about the fact that last night I had to choose between fermented grape juice or mince pies and I chose both 😈

Back on the wagon today, the gym was good, the sun is still shining and I’ve made flapjacks (which I’m not fond of) and there is a fruit cake (yum yum yum) in the oven. All for the builders…. 😉

Nama, I hope you had a lovely anniversary celebration 💕

Congratulations Nama and Mr Nama. Glad the romance is still alive and well for you two. 💏💑 P 😆

RT, love your work. 😇😇😇

Nama and Mr N, well done. What an achievement. 🌺🌺💐💐🍷🍷

Amazon, Nicky, Ply, what can I say. Fantastic weight loss, all of you. 🎉🎉🎉👯👯👯💃💃💃

Cheers, Bay 😎😎😎😎😎.

We’re having a heatwave until next week for sure. Crazy late Summer weather. Over 30C every day for 10 days. ☀️☀️☀️☀️

I’m with you Happy. What’s life without joy?
I feel, if one is consuming a full range of freshly prepared, seasonal foods, one should be getting proper nutrition.
It’s only the fewer calories I burn in everyday life, now that I’m so much lighter, that frustrates me. But hardly a reason to gain again! 😆 P

Hi 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) 😉
It’s not true that married men live longer than single men. It only seems longer.

———————————————————-
Losing a wife can be very hard. In my case, it was almost impossible.
———————————————————
A man was complaining to a friend: “I had it all – money, a beautiful house, a big car, the love of a beautiful woman – and then, BAM!, it was all gone!”
“What happened?” asked his friend. “My wife found out…”

———————————————————-
Just think, if it weren’t for marriage, men would go through life thinking they had no faults at all.
———————————————————
I think one of the greatest things about marriage is that as both husband and father,
I can say anything I want to around the house. Of course, no one pays the least bit of attention.

———————————————————-
A successful man is one who makes more money than his wife can spend.
A successful woman is one who can find such a man.

———————————————————-
A man meets a genie. The genie tells him he can ask for whatever he wants, But his mother-in-law gets double of what he gets. The man thinks for a moment and says,
“Okay, give me a million dollars and beat me till I’m half dead.”
———————————————————
Men who have pierced ears are better prepared for marriage.
They’ve experienced pain and bought jewellery.

———————————————————-
How do most men define marriage?
An expensive way to get your laundry done free.

———————————————————-
Words to live by: Do not argue with a spouse who is packing your parachute

———————————l————————-
First guy (proudly): “My wife’s an angel!”
Second guy: “You’re lucky, mine’s still alive.
———————————————————
The most effective way to remember your wife’s birthday is to forget it once.

———————————————————
Two old men were fishing off a bridge as they had done daily for many years.
Suddenly a funeral procession came down the road.
1
One old man reeled in his line, laid down his rod, faced the street and bowed his head until the procession had passed. He then picked up his rod and started fishing again.
The other fisherman was amazed and stated “I didn’t know you were that religious.
” The other looked at him and said, “Least I could do, we was married for 42 years!”
Sorry Nama 😉

Have a happy weekend all you beautiful losers 😆
Peace RT

Hi all,
Sarah you are so right, we are awesome!
Thanks everyone for the kind words. I don’t know where the 43 years went, but as you say Nicky, the kids have grown! In fact, we got some even better news last week, eldest son and wife are becoming parents in September! Not sure how I feel about being a grandma, pretty happy I think. But the paeds nurse in me keeps hearing little voices, so I fear I will privately worry most of the pregnancy away!! I do know however, that most parents cope with whatever the outcome. Plus these two are well supported and close to both sets of their parents….so exciting times.
Topical theme for the jokes RT, very cheeky of you. Why am I not surprised? You are a well seasoned grandfather, you will need to give me some hints!
Fasting again today after two fairly reckless days, but probably nowhere near as reckless as previously! Found some fresh fish (schnapper) for dinner again, will be lovely with salad. Funny, I don’t miss the chips any more. I am with you Amazon and Jojo re the attractions of bread, so just have to save it for weekends. I can’t stop if I start!
No way I am becoming a Cron-ie! Life would be so miserable, food is one of the joys. And we all have the secret of ‘control without ongoing suffering’ Purple sometimes I think it would be nice to be able to manage to eat a few more calories daily and still maintain, but after two days of abandon, last night I felt really uncomfortably ‘stuffed’! So thats no fun either. I guess its just balance.

Absolutely fabulous news Nama our third another grand daughter as you know a IVF baby and is due on the 16th March #notlongnow the Daughter-in-law she is bloody massive and the weather is not ideal for her first but very very exciting as for me I felt at 48 to be a Pa way too young 😉 and my 5th son to be an Uncle at 12 😯 I found really weird anyhow all good now and the experience and excitement and absolute joy and pleasure when Nan and Pa come to visit is priceless so personally rewarding and satisfying on so many different levels it’s good to be alive.
On a sad note however and tongue in cheek of course is the demise of the grid girls at the V8 clipsal street race the Government have can you believe it what the but the
CLIPSAL grid girls are disappointed about plans to axe their jobs at future races but the State Government says it will not change its mind, declaring there is a better use for “taxpayer dollars”
RT

Spring?! It’s snowing here again and 2 degrees…

Thanks Amazon!

I have to disagree with you though! I think you’re most unfortunate to live in the south… although the weather is undoubtedly better 🙂

So into my walks. but weight into plateau. it hasn’t changed for a while. Actually I put on one pound. This is a long term project, so I have decided to change my exercise a bit. I might do zumba in the weekend and introduce a light jog or may be go to an uphill route. Will see how it goes over the weekend.

Have a great weekend everyone.

Hate to disagree…the weather in the south of England is often a lot colder than Edinburgh. I’ve been watching every day all winter!

Congrats Nama! Grandkids are amazing!

Learnt something I’ve long suspected from Dr M at his book launch today… any sweetners (including stevia) cause an insulin spike as the body prepares as soon as it tastes sweentness. The only way to avoid these spikes is to learn to not have sweet drinks. P 😆

P,

That’s an interesting observation Re: Edinburgh vs south England. There is a gradient across the UK, for temperature, rainfall, sunshine, etc. Looking at long term yearly averages, Edinburgh is a couple of degrees cooler than London. Interestingly, the difference is less marked in winter than in summer, so average winter temperatures are similar but average summer temperatures are out by a couple of degrees.

However if you move away from large urban conurbations (which create their own climate and artificially maintain temperature), differences in rural areas north/south will be considerably more marked, with no expanses of concrete or plane vapour trails, etc to influence ambient temperature.

My FD went out of the window when I started coughing and realised that the whole flat and everything in it including me was covered in plaster dust and on going to the kitchen to get a drink discovering the boiler making rather disturbing noises. On investigation the pressure had dropped alarmingly.
I spent the afternoon fiddling around with the pressure gauge as it kept dropping every time I got it back to normal. Eventually it settled down but by then I’d cleaned up after the plasterer, washed all the floors again, vacuumed the stairs and had a slice of cake and opened a bottle of wine.

I’ve done 3 FDs this week so not a disaster.

The plasterer is coming back at 7.30am tomorrow 😮

Hi Jo,

I’m done eating today and I’ll forego brunch tomorrow to compensate.

Glad to hear you are having a cholecystectomy, no more problems with stones once that is done.

I’m actually not bothered by the amount of naturally occurring sugar in food, my aim is to limit added sugar and processed carbs and eat a wide variety of fruits etc without thinking about it. Fortunately I don’t have to worry about blood glucose levels so it isn’t an issue for me.

I am so tired and preoccupied with the building work that I forgot I was supposed to go to a local school charity event this evening 😠

I love the taste of goji berries but they dry out very quickly so I often soak them in a little warm water to plump them up a bit. Goldenberries are delicious IMO and you only need a few in something to give a real burst of sharp fruity flavour.

At least, Jo, you now know the way forward. Better to get it over with. As to the tummy tuck…you won’t need it after the next 8 weeks!

Amazon, blood sugar spikes effect us all. It is important for all of us to regulate them. As you say, natural sugars are preferable, but they are still not all equal. Topical fruits, for example are worse than apples and berries.

Re weather…today’s UK weather report…
Esher minus 1 to 6; the Lakes 1 to 6; East Sussex 0 to 5 and Edinburgh 2 to 6.
Being on the coast helps temper weather, but I have to laugh at the fear of the weather “up north” that southerners experience. Real estate spin? 😀😀😀 P

Morning/evening all,

Another frosty morning with ☀

Jo, when I was in the NHS patients with gallstones were categorised verbally by the saying “fair, fat, female and forty” Slim people do suffer from them but the vast majority in my experience were overweight or obese.

There are 3 different types of gallstones, they are either made of cholesterol, bilirubin or mixed but symptomatic gallstones are much less common than raised cholesterol.

The plasterer has arrived so it’s time for another dust bath 😉

Have a good one everybody 😜

Thanks P. A good review of the current state of knowledge.

Did you see Dr M on SBS’s insight on Tuesday? Very good except I was reminded why I can’t usually stand it – the host Jenny Brockie constantly interrupts her guests, not letting them finish and talking over them.

Happy Sunday all.