2nd post

forgot to tell you I have signed up to do hula hoop class on Sunday lol. Hoping it will be fun and perhaps add to an exercise routine that I can work on at home.

Also did I tell you we have booked flights to go to NZ just after Christmas? Going out to visit our son (where ever in NZ he may be at that time). At the moment he is milking 1300 cows twice a day – but loving it. He has an interview next week in Queenstown for the ski season, although he doesn’t ski he hopes there will be other jobs he will be suitable for. He would also like to try his hand at skiing. He also hopes to indulge in a Fergburger while he is there for his interview – google Fergburger, best burger in the world – probably! If the queue to get one is anything to go by – but so worth it!

Day 11 – SW WA USA – NFD

Fortunately was able to keep to a LFD yesterday, though almost followed the lemmings.

Here’s a YouTube link I hope works. It’s Ask Nurse Cindy on “Fat Cells are like water balloons: why the scales are not your friend. https://youtu.be/xF3rmi4DJAw
It’s a visual of what happens.

@songbirdme – amazing how you keep maintaining even as you spend frequent time away from your home
@mjrbcd44 – I wish you well as you take a breather
@debster251 – a new low! Yay!
cornish-jame – you are inching down, good for you
@missybear – remember the scale sometimes doesn’t tell the whole story
@michelineme – you hit your lowest since 2007 – that’s wonderful!

I’m glad we’re on this journey together!

Day 11 Stevensville Maryland USA CNFD

@michelinme My dinner went really well, I ordered a Maryland Crab Cake witch is 175 calories and I ate half, and 6 steamed shrimp 7 calories each, I ate half of my garden salad 33 calories and one vodka martini at 125 calories. I normally don’t drink alcohol on my CFD’s, but I was out having fun, so my total calorie intake was 319 for the day. I didn’t each all day, I just drank water until dinner.

Today was weigh in and no weight gain. Feeling good about that.

Now three CD’s coming up and a Birthday party tonight. Looking forward to sliding into my new spring dress that is 3 sizes smaller that what I was wearing last fall. Loving this WOL.

The best preparation you can do for tomorrow is to be your best today. Have a great Friday everyone.

Day 11 – UK – FD
Day 10 – NFD
Day 9 – NFD 😈

I’m not sure what has happened since my return from holidays but I seem intent on feasting – 4 Feast Days in one week!!!!!!!!!! I have not dared weigh myself this week…………..However I did do B2B FD on Monday(471cals) and Tuesday(678cals) but then proceeded to have another Feast Day on Wednesday so I’m pretty sure that I have far exceeded my total calorie intake for this past week since I arrived back in the UK 😞

I seriously need to press my internal RESET button so today will be a liquid only FD to hopefully keep me on CDs for the weekend………

I have managed to do 3 Yoga classes (1.5hr each) 1hr aerobic class and a brisk 8km last Saturday and today a brisk 5km with a gentle 3km on Tuesday.

@lilymartin – I have been a bit like your Day 9……were those skinny flat whites??? I’m partial to them too!
@cornish-jane @borealis – sounds like a few of us are in that ‘feast-and-fast’ approach at the moment 😒
@stoic – hopefully you will join us early retirees in September – I have never looked back since I retired 😊
@fatfingers – well done on meeting your pre holiday target – have a fabulous time and enjoy the break x
@flourbaby – loving your posts
@michelinme – hope the hospital appointment went OK and you managed to stick to your Day 9 FD 🤗
@onlyhermes – Wow 😲6.5 pounds down for May so far – Great job!!!!!
@kaywesterman -have a great trip back home and enjoy sharing your grandaughter’s graduation from HS
@anna6 – your children are so lucky to have you nearby to help out – sounds like you have a good life and I love hearing about your meal plans x
@bert1802 – nice to have you back with us – looking forward to seeing your ending for the rest of May!!
@dykask – A belated Happy Birthday to your dad – I’m sure you had a fab day helping your Dad celebrate his 86th yesterday
@daffodil2010 – glad to hear you were sensible and enjoyed your date night 💑
@ripple – stick with this WOL and check into the challenges regularly for motivation and support and you will get to your goal
@coda – Hello lovely to hear from you and thank you for sharing that blog – it was just what I needed to read after this last week of mine……
@emma1202 – B2B2B means for example after your evening meal on Sunday – you have a FD on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday then break your fast sometime on Thursday – some folks eat up to 1/4 TDEE/500cals/800cals and some hardy souls even do a water only intake over those days!!
@songbirdme – funny how it’s always nice to be back home no matter how great the time away was ☺️
@mjrbcd44 – will miss you and your great posts but as others have said take whatever time off you need, lurk in the background if you feel up to it and we look forward to having you join us again hopefully in the June Challenge? Some self love never goes astray 🤗🤗
@debster251 – congratulations on reaching your lowest for many years
@floridafun – well done on that 5lbs loss for May so far
@missybear – big breath in – you know that “cruella scales” love to trick us……and I totally agree with @molij view “when on maintenance, we need to be mindful that we won’t be the same weight every day”
@michelinme – great job on reaching your lowest weight since summer 2007 – stick with this WOL – it works!!
@penz – I would suggest that so long as your total calorie intake for the week does not exceed your TDEE x 7 you will not gain weight – if you want to lose weight then you need to eat less than that of course
@onlyhermes – your meal out sounds delish – however I would miss out on the bread and olive oil and the coffee with cream and enjoyed a glass of red with the steak instead😉
@diana123 – what a wonderful feeling to be “sliding into my new spring dress that is 3 sizes smaller that what I was wearing last fall” ENJOY

Reading your posts and writing my own has helped me stay focused on this FD – I have a glass of homemade Kefir waiting for me and I should complete today with a total of 228cals fingers crossed 🤞

“Losing Weight is Hard. Maintaining Weight is Hard. Staying Overweight is Hard. Choose your Hard.”

Second post

Have just managed to catch up on the posts.
Many stories of success. @atoic, @floridafun, @cornish-jane, @michelinme, (30” waist… I wish!) @shimmera, and many more. An amazing achievement
@sarahbob that’s the first of many milestones in your baby’s life. Funny enough, my second child’s first trip was more emotional for me.
@flourbaby 38 Lbs is an amazing achievement. You should be super proud of yourself. Slow and steady wins the race. (Is there a ‘lemming’ pocket group? I could join that one along with the tortoises, plankers…..!!?)
Thanks @coda for that useful reminder of something I’m guessing many of us associate with. The only one that didn’t resonated with me was no 4! Have you been to NZ before? I LOVED it. My OH described it as NI on steroids. Had a Fergberger in Queenstown too but didn’t like the queue. Queenstown is a young person’s paradise. Not shabby for a nearly old person either!
@michelinme 20 years is a long time. How amazing to find relief in MO. You’ve hit the nail on the head – self control is self care.
@ccco – your willpower is shining through! Go you!
@missybear – what a bummer! Just a blimp on those dreaded scales – go out and enjoy yourself and take stock tomorrow.
Great to be back on track @bert1802
@dykask you attention to stats is amazing. I’m just curious if you keep records. Are you able to look back on last year and analyse your eating pattern? I love reading your daily digests.
@emma1202 enjoy your trip
@diana123 sound like you’re really flying. Well done you!

I had a eureka moment this morning. I pulled on my yoga clothes and caught sight of this skinny(ish)thing in the mirror (with a small bulge for the belly). ME! So…I’ve decided not to chase that ever elusive loss on the scales. I’m good at ‘maintaining’ (read into that what you will) so I’m going to focus on the quality of my diet aka sugar dragon slaying, and hopefully that waist measurement will go down. I feel better already.

Enjoy the rest of your evening wherever you are my fellow Fasters.

USA Day 11 FD

Broke my water fast! Only wish I didn’t feel like eating everything in site! It’s funny, though, since I am not even hungry! LOL I will be very mindful. I’ve closed the kitchen! Have a great evening everyone! 🙂

Day 12 – Japan – NFD 79.5kg

Just finished my zero calorie fast (well less than 10 calories, 3 cups of coffee black and a couple glasses of unsweetened oolong tea.)

@debster251 I’m actually a bit haphazard in my record keeping. Sometimes I’m very good but I often get bored of it. Forums like this provide a nice way to look things up too, but I don’t do that very often.

@at I’m actually about 8000km away from where my dad is. However we talk on over skype. He can actually be hard to track down as he is often going on multi-week trips all over the USA. Sometimes he heads to Canada too. He has a cell phone but doesn’t do a good job of keeping it functional. Pretty old school. When he was in high school he and an older brother dropped out for a year and worked as cowboys for a distant neighbor. They then took the money and had electricity strung out to the far and went back to school. So they were both a year older when they got out of high school. When I was a kid we got a telephone at the farm but even up through my teenage years it was a party line used by six different farms. When I was in college they got private lines. It is kind of amazing how close we are to what we view as kind of distant past.

@simcoeluv – good point about water soluble vitamins. However daily is probably not necessary. Many people successfully fast without vitamin supplements. Also water soluble vitamins are rarely a problem for people that eat mostly plants. Strangely enough I did have a vitamin deficiency when I was a kid and it was a K vitamin. At the time my diet was a typical standard American diet and actually a little heavy on the fats. It wasn’t pleasant as they had to put a pressurized tube up through my nose to stop some bleeding I had. After that though I never and another issue. I used to take a multivitamin while fasting, but now only consider that if I’m fasting for more than two days.

I find I’m eating more and more of a plant based diet. However I’ll never be a vegan at least in mindset. That is because I have too much of a farming upbringing and I don’t believe there is such a thing plant based food that isn’t depended on animal products in someway. I personally think vegans tend to humanize larger animals and it is at the expense of lower lifeforms. Anyway it might be possible to have only plant life but not anymore on this earth, all forms of life are tightly interwoven. So it is just a matter of where one draws the line but all forms of eating involve some harm to some lifeforms.

The other problem I have is with some the statements made by some of the vegan leaders. Like “eating an egg is the same risk as smoking 5 cigarettes” or “cheese is just colligated cow pus”. (Both of those are in the documentary “What the Health.” Seriously how can they people claim to be taking a science based approach and making absurd statements like those?

Finally they often talk about how if the farm land were used to just grow food for people there would be a lot more people that can be fed. However much of the land actually can’t sustain the type of crops that can be used to produce food directly for people. If all ranching were stopped there would be mass starvation and a massive world wide depression like has never been seen. It is even possible billions of people would parish. It isn’t as simple as it gets presented.

I’m not pro-factory farms or anything like that. There are some serious issues around how some animals and even food crops are raised. On the flip side, when I was a kid all of our beef was grass fed. Even when cows were fed grain, it was only limited amounts for a limited time. Pigs were mostly grain fed, that was a lot of work too. Chickens eat whatever they could find and were all over the place. Geese were more of a problem than the chickens but they also roamed freely. We had dogs we used to use for work too and lots of cats but most of them were feral.

Day 12 – Ireland 🇮🇪 – NFD

Morning all. Great night out with my friends, cocktails, dinner (had pasta for the first time in weeks….was ok, but to think I used to consume pasta at least 2or 3 times a week 😳), wine, meringue for dessert. Feeling a tad bloated but hey ho.

Off soon on an adventure……well, we are going to look at a big Mercedes commercial van with the view to converting it to a Camper Van (Motor home, Camping Car, RV….or whatever they are called). We will have a lift on the back for the motorcycle. It will be a DIY job. So excited. Our future holiday trips around Europe lie ahead with luxury. I love traveling by motorcycle but as we get older we have found spending hours on the bike makes the old body stiff. ☺️ This option means we still have the bike but can travel in comfort plus avoid expense of hotels.

The Scooby Doo bus awaits!!!

Have a great Saturday

Day 12 Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 NFD

Good morning everyone. Well thanks for the good advice and kind support of you lovely people, I am pleased to report that I got my act together and thoroughly enjoyed my Italian dinner which turned out to be reasonably healthy: nibbled a little cheese and olives from the sharing platter, small pea and asparagus risotto starter, chicken and salad for main course…….and yes, there was tiramisu for pudding and red wine in good measure. Today is a new day, reset button firmly pressed and scales will be avoided for at least a week. I have decades of experience of being on a diet but getting to my ultimate goal and maintenance is a whole new world so I’m very appreciative of your support. @molij I think I will also pay more attention to how clothes fit and stop the obsession with the scales, maybe I will revert to monthly weighing as it worked well for me whilst I was losing.

Enjoy your weekend everyone 😊

Day 12….Florida…..CD

Two FDs under my belt, I don’t want to get myself over inflated but not to shabby for a girl who has run amok for over a month. I have to work today, so that will be helpful in my CD.
Speaking if Mother’s Day…….. happy Day to all the. Mothers out there….. May your children behave today and make you not question your level of craziness! Lol
My kiddos….. gave me my gifts early…… the OS gave me a tangerine tree and the YO gave me a hand held vacuum……. he told me he wanted to get me a practical gift…. so now I don’t have to pull out the big vacuum when I clean up his messes… it should save me sometime and be easier on me…..Sweet kid….. He’s got my sense of humor so, it actually is quite funny…… well, he’s more like me than he likes to admit….

Well…. the day is calling me, so I must be off!

I dream of living in a world where a chicken can cross the road and his motives are not questioned!

Day 12, Finland, NFD

Hi everyone,

Have just got back from the week in Krakow, Poland for a wound care conference. It was really interesting but glad to be home. I have not been mindful at all about my eating over the week, While I don’t feel like I went crazy, and I did walk at least 10000 steps each day I am sure the scales will be up a bit. But….I am not standing on them just yet, as I was trying to just weigh in at the end of the month. As tomorrow is mothers day I will have a FD on Monday. I am half heartedly thinking of trying to do a B2B as I start night shift, but lets see. I will be happy with a successful FD.

While I was away I have read every, post but will not try and answer all of them! Was interested in the swinging fast and feast conversation, cos that is me! I just have to see a lower number on the scales and I feel like I can have a reward. Have to change the idea that rewards are food based

That’s it for now. Happy Mothers Day for those celebrating tomorrow. And may the scales always be in your favour!

Day 12 – USA – NFD

Good but not a banner FD yesterday, 657 cals. I planned a stir-fry dinner, and the end result for the day would have been 501 cals. but added more chicken because the amount I was using looked like it would not satisfy. I notice that since I’ve been exercising more, my hunger increases. I also notice that I can mess with Cruella’s head if I carb up at least 1 day a week, then a whoosh! I love playing tricks on her. @daffodil2010, how exciting to anticipate a way to travel in comfort with the one you love and save $ at the same time! @missybear, congrats on your controlled Italian dinner…I didn’t think you could put those two words in one sentence! Happy Mother’s day to all, whether you are a mother to a two-legged or four-legged baby!

Day 12 UK NFD

Well I stepped on the scales this morning and imagine my horror when I have put on another 2 pounds!!!! I over indulged 1 day but I have kept within my calorie allowance the rest of the time, had 2 successful fast days, done my planned exercise & got over 10,000 steps every day….so how is another 2 pound gain even possible?!!!

This morning I was ready to chuck the scales out the window and give up on 5:2 all together. But once the tears and tantrums subsided I measured myself and my measurements are exactly the same so at least I’m not adding to my girth I guess.

I’m thinking of having 2 fast days and 2 CD next week to see if that makes any difference then possibly try 4:3.

Eurovision party tonight so I’m going to try and enjoy myself. But I’m still a little bit sulky ☹

Hi everyone!
I am pleased that I have gone from 166 pounds (75.4 kg) to 161 pounds (73.1) kg since May 1. I am enjoying this WOL. I am also cutting down on carbs a bit as well. Is anyone on a specific diet like paleo or the ketogenic diet? I’m wondering about combining a low carb/ higher fat diet like the ketogenic diet with the 5:2 protocol. Keep on being healthy, everyone!

Day 12 Gozo, Malta, nfd

Coda thanks for your vote of confidence in my son. He is sitting for another exam as I write. He finishes all his exams on 26 May then it’s my nephews s wedding on the 27 May.

At two of my daughters live on the same island and I help babysitting my grandchildren and cooking meals. At the moment by youngest daughter is two months pregnant and I try to feed her what she particularly likes. She is nauseated almost all day and evening and I’m refraining cooking with citrus juices and alcohol.

Today I’m sick with the flu. I cooked Florentine steaks and eggs for my husband and son and for my daughter it was a roll of bread with fried egg and breaded chicken fillets. My son also ate some mushrooms tortellini and I had some too. This evening it’s pizza for us. My husband and I share one pizza between us.

Onwards and downwards have a great Saturday everyone

Day 12 – SW WA USA – NFD

A glorious day here! The sun came out as I was at the Farmers’ Market. I stocked up on my hazelnuts and some pesticide free veggies. Used some of the baby kale mix in my breakfast scramble at noon.

@diwantsthin – @metatauta answered your question well. I recently have switched to keto eating (eating keto friendly foods but not figuring out all the details yet) and see that there’s not as much bounce on the scale going from FDs to NFDs. Hopefully the trend will keep going downward.

@daffodil2010 – sounds like quite the travel adventures ahead with your Scooby Doo bus

@metatauta – I was going to ask what foods you use when you do your 1 day a week carb. Your response to DiWantsThin spoke to that.

@michelinme – so glad you’ve got a new lease on life!

@bert1802 – I like that new ending!

Enjoy your Mother’s Day tomorrow people.

Hello all day 12 NI
Most definetly a Non fasting day

indulged a little today as Dad bought me a M&S eccles cake, yummy I have reduced this treat from one a week to one a month although Dad does like include some other little treat for me. Also bought a variety of cheeses and OH and I enjoyed a little, ok not so little, cheese board.

@anna6 – you are such a linchpin for your family, when do you find time for you? Yes we will meet up with our son when we visit NZ though we won’t know exactly where he will be in the country until nearer the time.

@debster251- we visited NZ 2011 for the Rugby world cup and we loved it too. Felt very much at home. We tried to cram so much in then and always said we would love to go back. With our son being out there it was too good an opportunity to miss.

@bert1802 – good ending 👍

@at – such an inspiration x

Happy mothers day everyone – enjoy 💐 x

Day 13 – Japan – NFD 81.1kg

Eating petty healthy, yesterday was a bit heavy on whole fruit and light on vegetables, making up for it today. Personally I feel nutrition is really important when one is fasting and nutrition from food is vastly better than from a pill.

Day 13, Cornwall UK, NFD

My underarms are doing well on Magnesium Oil – no bad pongs – very pleased – just thought I would share that with you all!

I had a big sugar day yesterday – a local farmer sells rhubarb and you have to be quick to get any. I grabbed the last two bunches to make rhubarb crumble for friends. I added berries to make it sweeter but I flinched every time I added a little extra sugar to get it right! It was worth it. I made the crumble topping with coconut oil instead of butter. Yum

I’m getting some really good measurements on my blood pressure now. Last year always measuring in the 130s/80s and now nearly always in the 110s/70s. Sometimes I take it several times as I can’t quite believe it. I won’t know if its the fasting (10 months), the weight loss (27kgs, and still overweight), or the healthier diet (plant based mediterranean), but I’ll take it!

@sarahbob – hang in there – i have up-weeks every now and then and they are always followed by down-weeks if you stick to 5:2. It messes with your head but stay strong!💪

Day 13, Newcastle UK, NFD

Well I’m back from Dorset – and more of me has returned than went. Yes @flourbaby – you were right. Apart from one bottle, all the AF beer came home too. At least I set out with the right intent but failed miserably. Sorry @coda – there is no other word for it. On the upside, we had brilliant weather and a lovely week with our friends. Oh – and I broke a rib whilst attempting some press ups on my Wondercore Smart that was also part of my ‘healthy week’ plan.

We have less than 2 weeks before our all inclusive two week cruise and I have to admit I am panicking big style. It seems whatever strategy I try, I immediately self-sabotage. Taking my end April weight as maintenance has not worked either. So I’m out of maintenance and back on the journey down to 133lbs. Currently 140lbs. Well that was yesterday and I’m just avoiding the scales completely this morning. We did go shopping yesterday afternoon and the fridge is full of fruit, veg and salad stuff. As ever, my big evil is alcohol and last night I just had to drink the really good bottle of red that my godparents bought me for my birthday the other week. Unfortunately they bought me chocolates too and half the box disappeared along with the wine. OH hid the rest (but I already found them – sigh).

So, what to do, I ask myself. Well, I’ve got two options: a) wallow in self-pity and self-hatred or b) flick the switch and go all out for the very best I can achieve in the 12 days I have left.

“You only fail when you stop trying.”

Day 13 Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 NFD

Today may morph into a FD as I have been up most of the night with an upset tummy, so feeling grim which is a pity because it’s a beautiful sunny day…..just lacking energy to do anything.

@strawberriesandcream remember the quickly on quickly off rule, tackle that holiday gain now before it gets established. Back in December I gained 5 lbs on a 2 week holiday but within 2 weeks of returning I had lost 6 lbs by quickly returning to 5:2 and the Mediterranean diet, even though I drank red wine on some NFDs.

Time I got dressed before its the afternoon!!!!
Enjoy Sunday everyone.

Day 13….Florida….NFD

Happy Mother’s Day to all…..

After I got Matilda back in her cage, I settled into a restful sleep. Every FD, I feel like I’m returning to what I was before my month and a half blow out. Now, I wish you body would catch up, I can handle the weight fluctuations but the extra inches in my belly and thighs have really disappointed me.

@strawberries and cream…… I traveled quite a bit the last month and a half, I would have done a lot better for myself if I would have had a few FDs when I was home in between trips…….but reality is always something on a whole other level. I will tell you that it was nice to not worry or think about this WOL, eating properly and worrying if my clothes we’re still going to fit…. I feel good about the progress I’ve made but it also made me revisit why I started…. I’m thankful for that! Enjoy your time away, regardless of the after math.
Sometimes we must stop or lose something to appreciate them when they are around!

Not much going on around here today, just enjoying my family and why I love being a mother and a wife!

I dream of living in a world where a chicken can cross the road and his motives are not questioned!

Day 13 USA (Illinois) NFD

Just checking in.

Onward and downward.

Day 13 Stevensville Maryland USA CNFD

Happy Mothers Day to all the mothers out there. DD is coming for dinner and I made good choices, steamed shrimp and lobster tails along with a garden salad from our garden.

Of course there will be a little bit of champagne and wine with dinner.

The best preparation you can do for tomorrow is to be your best today. Have a great Sunday everyone. Will take time to read all the post tonight