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Hi Salma and all
I’m like a wee bairn, just one more sleep, bags packed.
Not officially weighing myself until tomorrow, though OH has, down another kilo after all that moaning, it feels like the picture of Dorian Grey. Except I’m being good and he is eating loads.
Fasted Monday, stayed well under 1000 caps yesterday, and a fast today. So write if you wobble, were in this together!
Good luck everyone, nearly halfway through the week. Travel hopefully…………
Somehow I have missed where you’re traveling to milena? It’s too early for me to read back thru the thread and figure it out! Help a girl out, won’t you? I love to travel so I’m interested in where you’re going!
Scale is down 8/10ths of a pound this morning. Still up over a pound from my low for this month on the 5th. Still plugging along.
Went diamond shopping yesterday! I think what I may do is have my original pear shaped engagement ring set in a simple solitaire and then get a wrap(ring guard) with diamonds on it. I want to do some more looking. I just went to a small jewelry shop in our little town on my lunch hour yesterday. I’ll visit another shop or 2 to get more ideas.
Another normal day for me. I’ll be fasting on Thursday for my 2nd of the week.
Off to boot camp!
Have a great day!
Oh Lori, I love diamonds!
Off to Copenhagen in the morning, antiques fair a nd flea market. I buy and sell, amongst other things, second hand Scandinavian jewellery.
Only fairs OH isn’t bored with in half an hour, and exchange rate is brilliant.
Weather same as here so planned river trip might be postponed. Will be interesting to see if I gain weight, hope not.
Hey Milena,
I haven’t yet gone on a trip since I’ve been doing the 5:2. Best of luck to you on sticking with it. You can do it, and we are all behind you! Have a great trip! I’ve never been to Copenhagen, but toyed with the idea of taking a ferry there once when I was in the UK–it just wasn’t in my budget at the time. Enjoy everything for me!
Sounds like a fun & interesting trip milena! Hope the weather improves for you.
Boot camp was rough this morning……well it ALWAYS is! LOL!
Just for grins, I logged all my planned food for the day into M>F>P and it totals to only 1350. That leaves me some leeway for a beer or a slice of cheese if the mood strikes. Or maybe a Greek yogurt if I need a snack later. Should come in well below my TDEE.
I won’t count every day, but just wanted to get an idea where I stood. Still trying to figure this 5:2 out to get the scale to move consistently downward!
What a hoot you all are! In addition to scratching my head over Aesthetic flights, I’m still trying to figure out what WOL normal means, but I think I understand you to mean that normal for you now (as far as food intake, etc. at least) isn’t what it used to be–in a good way. Am I right?
Salma, would there even be enough time for a facial on a flight to Copenhagen? I’m guessing it would be a relatively short flight. Am I right there?
Safe journey at any rate, Milena!
lol!!!!! I was just hoping it made me sound intelligent!
This has been the hardest fast day so far!!!
Perhaps the costa latte was not the VERY best start, but it was small, and just a quarter teaspoonful of sugar.
Perhaps dried fruit was not the VERY best choice for lunch, but I did weigh out just 25g.
Dinner was chicken stir fry – or rather stir boil, as I decided oil was too many calories, it turned into a sort of very thick, half cooked veg broth, with a few slithers of chicken, seemed barely worth running – well walking – to the kitchen every five minutes, impatiently waiting for the chicken to roast. And Im still hungry! OH thought is was tasty though.
That’l teach me to be more organised! And teach me I haven’t got this sussed yet.
On the bright side OH refused to wash my size 20 jeans, they were hanging, but so comfy still. I dragged out a smaller pair which still had tags on, cant remember buying them, size 18, still humungus, but at least in the right direction.
Hi Milena, I certainly understand your dilemma with the oil. Over half my TDEE is olive oil and also psyllium on feast days, so that leaves fewer than 800 calories for breakfast, lunch, and dinner–and I’m thinking of reducing my total intake by 100-200 calories–or possibly throwing in another fast day–or not, depending on what the naturopath says.
Thanks for the translation Lori. Salma, can you have a different fast day when you don’t have to take people out to lunch? Just a thought. However, you have my complete support.
Yesterday was a normal day, and I thought I did well only to have the scale back up over a pound today. This is nuts. Today is a fast day but I have a feeling it’s going to be a difficult one as it’s only 5AM and I’m starving already!
Taking the day off exercise as I woke up with a headache and feeling stuffy. Back to boot camp tomorrow morning and I’ll hit the treadmill over the weekend.
5 weeks from today I leave for Florida & then a cruise. I was so hoping to be at my goal weight by then, but here I am basically the same as when I started 5:2. I feel like I have lost and my clothes are baggy, but the darn scale! WTH?!
Anyway….not sure I’ll be able to stick to 500 calories today, but it’ll be under 1000. Not going to stress over it. After all, 500 calorie days have gotten me no where. Maybe I’d do better eating a bit more? Whatever, it is what it is.
Wow this was a downer of a post! Sorry! Sometimes it just gets the best of me and I have to get it out! In the grand scheme of things, that number on the scale is not a big deal. I just have to get over it and get on with it!
Have a good day everyone!
Hi Lori,
Sorry to hear the scale isn’t cooperating with you. Believe me, I know how that is. I’m just wondering though, may I ask how tall you are? That definitely can make a difference (I’m 4′ 10″), and as the naturopath says, my body type gains weight very easily (I used to think that just smelling fatty foods caused me to blow up like a balloon–well, not really, but almost ;-). If you are interested and would like to learn more about my variation of 5:2 please see my penultimate post here: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/first-dayweek/. I know it seems restrictive–and it is at the moment, but it won’t be as I go on, and I’m having phenomenal results (though not every day). Just FYI.
That is quite a list of “don’ts” Jayne! Wow! I’m not prepared to give up dairy or eggs, but I plan to limit grains & sugar. Baby steps I guess!
Oh yes, my thyroid is an issue. I have been diagnosed hypothyroid for over 10 years and take a daily synthroid tablet. My test numbers have been good, but it is still not the same as having a healthy thyroid I suppose.
Scale took a drop this morning, so I’m feeling better. I hate that my mood is so affected by that number on the scale, but there it is. I’m a work in progress.
Off to boot camp in a few minutes. Have a happy Friday!
Hey Lori,
Just FYI, the list is what you restrict to begin with. Then the idea is to introduce eggs within a month. If there are no negative reactions, you can introduce peanuts (or something else). The key is to introduce things one at a time so you can see if you have a negative reaction to anything. However, with your thyroid the way it is I’m not sure what the end result would be.
Also, if you haven’t tried this already, try eating to the TDEE of your target weight. That might work well for you to start. Just a thought.
I’ll be working out later today as well (my sixth and final day this week). You have a happy Friday as well!
Just started the Fast Diet and noticed your over 50’s thread. I’m 53, am 5′ 9″ and weigh slightly less than 21 stones (a weight I have been at for the last 20 years whether I each loads of chocolate and ice cream or go on a diet and pound away on the treadmill, never changes).
I have started the 4:3 in order to lost about 9 stones, mainly because I went to the doctors about pains in my hips and knees and he say’s it’s arthritis brought on by being too heavy and my joints can’t cope with it.
Fast days go quite well, I started by limiting myself to a 600 calorie breakfast but just got hungry again later, so now just have no calories at all between the previous feast day tea and the next feast day breakfast. I find if I get really hungry and sipping cold water doesn’t help, I have a tin of grapefruit segments in juice (32 calories) and this helps me manage.
On feast days I stick to the 2400 calories I am allowed and try not to eat any less as I don’t want to reset my body’s TDEE. I also do either ten minutes of HIT first thing before breakfast or go for a walk after breakfast, depending on the weather.
I’ll do the 4:3 for a couple of months if I can and then go down to the 5:2 until I reach my target weight.
Oh Salma…sorry you’ve had a rough week. Stress is no good for us, that’s for sure. Hope you are able to relax over the weekend and feel better on Monday.
Yes, hypothyroidism sure is a common theme on this board as well as any other weight loss board I have been on. My first symptom was heart palpitations. Was in the ER for tests and that was the only thing they could come up with as a cause. I even did a stress test, which was fine, thank goodness!
I’m kind of eating with abandon today, so I know the scale will be up come Monday. No worries…I’m just hoping for a new low by next Friday!
Welcome Graham! Take it one day at a time and be patient. Lots of good information here on the boards, so take time to read when you can. Good Luck!
Happy weekend everyone!
Welcome FatGraham. Like you, I eat no food on fast days (only energy supplements that I use in my water daily, psyllium thrice daily, and supplements from the nutritionist–that all add up to a whopping 185 calories!). This has been working much better for me than when I was trying to go below 500 calories for the day. I’m on 5:2 now, but considering 4:3. Please let us know how you get on with that, hang in there, and best success to you.
Salma, I’m sorry to hear that work has gotten to you this week. I’m currently unemployed and really need to start working again, but am also dreading it for some of the reasons you mention (in addition to bagel Monday, monthly birthday cake, or free pizza for everyone for no good reason). I just hope I can get my weight down as much as possible before my new job (whatever that may be) starts (whenever that may be).
Being on this thread makes me grateful that despite taking thyroid pills as a child (mum thought I wasn’t tall enough, you see :-() all was normal on the thyroid front when I had my blood test done a few months ago. I appear to be in the minority on this thread, though I really thought I wasn’t for a while there. All the best with getting the thyroid in line. I’m sure if that can happen, hopefully the weight will come off more easily.
Enjoy your weekends one and all!
Salma…I will be joining you on the straight and narrow tomorrow! Take comfort that you are not alone! 😉
I have less than 5 weeks before going cruising and I want to get a few more pounds off as I know I’ll be bringing some extra ones home with me post-cruise!
I’m going to try to make it a very low carb week, even on my eating days and see if that makes a difference in my rate of loss. Truth be told, I do feel better when I’m off the sugar and other carbs.
Not sure what I’ll do today. I’m really not feeling like running on the treadmill, although I should. My muscles are so sore from boot camp last week that I just feel like taking it easy. I may must do some chores around the house and save the work out for tomorrow morning.
Have a lovely Sunday!
Welcome Dollysue. I’ve had that issue as well, but lately I’ve tried to think of rewards other than food. It can be difficult, and so far the best thing I’ve come up with is to sit in the sauna. It works for me because I like it and it’s relaxing, and it also doesn’t involve food. However, I realize it’s not the same for everyone, so rack your brains and see if you can come up with a way to treat yourself that involves something other than food. Just a thought.
Hey Salma, if life was easy none of us would be on this thread. 😉 I have an appointment with my fitness trainer in over an hour, so that gets me to the gym early this Sunday, and then I’ll be doing aerials after that (I generally do that on Sundays). When I was ill recently I ended up running a fever and not being able to work out that Sunday. It was unusual, but very cozy watching tele all day–but really weird. Have a nice relaxing day for me. My next day without exercise is Saturday.
Enjoy the rest of your weekends everyone!
Hang in there salma, I’m right there with you! The scale was up for me today too after 3 days of eating WAY too much. I’m not minding the fast so far, but then it’s only 10AM! I went to boot camp this morning and then had my unsweetened vanilla almond milk with a scoop of vanilla egg white protein. That shake keeps me satisfied for a long time. It is only 130 calories and now I’ll be able to go till around 5 this afternoon.
I get disgusted with myself for going so overboard on weekends and gaining back any loss I had during the week. Somehow I’ve got to stop doing that! I feel like a dog chasing my tail! Nothing to do but keep trying. Maybe one day I’ll get a grip on myself on the weekends!
Have a good Monday!
Hi there, I am a similar age at 53 ,and I have had terrible trouble trying to loose weight. Since I turned 48 or 49 its been impossible, and I hit the menopause at 50.
They say that going to the gym and doing lots of exercise is far less effective for weight loss than calorie reduction. That has been my experience. I could exercise 20 hours a day, and it would make no difference. The only thing that works now is major calorie restriction. Even major calorie restriction made no difference when I was menopausal. However I am past that stage now, and I discovered the 5;2 just over a year ago. It actually worked which was a huge surprise, when nothing else did. I had resigned myself to being fat, but gave it one last chance with the 5;2 and bingo!!! Its slow, and something we can do for the rest of our lives, so dont be in a huge hurry. But gosh, its worth it!! Good luck!!!
Hey Mammar, if you have had enough of being fat you have come to the right place! Everyone’s first fast day is a bit daunting, but it IS doable, and after a few times, it’s enjoyable. And best of all, it works! like a dream. I never thought I would be on my way to being thin, and loving every minute. If I can do it, anyone can.
I am fasting today. Homemade vegetable soup for tea, yummy. Tomorrow I am doing liquids only as I know from experience that guarantees a weight drop.
Try to check in tomorrow and let us know how it is going.
Happy fasting!
Be careful about the back to back fasting Salma. You don’t want to over stress your body especially since you’ve just started back at the gym. None of my business…just be careful.
I within an hour of eating and boy am I ready! Tomorrow will be an eating day, but mindful. Wednesday I will fast again and then Thursday will be a half fast. I have to choose which weekend day to have another fast, or at the very least, a half fast. I simply cannot have 3 days in a row of eating anything and everything.
Onward we go!
Evening. I’m 48 and am now in my third week of 5:2. My plan is to gauge this week’s progress on the morning of my first fast day NEXT week…. this should even out the daily bumps & troughs on the scales (hydration levels, er…. colonic…erm, “load” etc). Based on this method, my first two weeks of 5:2 have lost me 2½lbs. Given that I found the first few days of fasting incredibly difficult (not being one to deal well with feeling hungry…) and was probably doing 800+ calories on the first 2 or 3 “fast” days, I’m actually quite pleased with this level of weight loss. Today was the first day that I have managed <500 calories AND done the 12 hours food free between breakfast & dinner so feeling a small sense of accomplishment there. Of course the real accomplishment will be losing the next 50lbs.
For the record, I have already lost 35lbs – not all voluntarily (bereavement last year, followed by sleep-deprivation insulin resistance so switched to lower carbs to increase insulin sensitivity). I have decided however that I need to capitalise on this initial weight loss in a sustainable way. I’m really hoping this will work for me as my BMI is currently 32.4 (although at the time of bereavement it was 37.9 and at it’s very worst a few years ago it was 40.6). My goal is a BMI of 24….. this is a goal I would never have set myself on a traditional “diet” as I know from experience that they falter and I stop trying….
Hello Everyone,
Welcome to all the new folks–it’s great to see so many of you! My scale went up today–no fast day, and all this with staying UNDER my TDEE! I’m not sure what’s up with that, but after the last fast day I was just under the lowest I’ve weighed since I started this journey, and I’m sure it will go down again as the week progresses, so I’m unaffected by this generally–except it is somewhat disappointing.
Lori, I used to have a problem with overeating on weekends as well–Saturdays in particular–so Saturday is a fast day for me now. That seems to work wonders. Just sayin’. I don’t know if it will work for you, but there you are!
Have a great week one and all!
Hi everyone!!!
Just back – wonderful time, wonderful place, everyone should go to Copenhagen.
I’ll call my trip the good, the bad and the ugly!
The good, lots of salad, salmon, lobster and prawns. Walked miles and miles, lots of water, fruit and veg. Weather cold but sunny.
The bad – beef fillet (though I only ate half, saved the rest for a salad the next night), pizza -twice, hot chocolate, lattes, chocolate cake – cakes, I could go on but I know a lot of you will have just finished a fast.
The ugly, wine and wine and smogerbrod and wine and pickles and loads of stuff covered in mayonaise! And wine!
And time to pay the piper – didn’t quite hit my mini target before going, but managed to get to 81.5kg, only half a kilo short. Just weighed myself 84kg. Blummin’ heck, 2.5 KILO, 6 pounds in less than a week???? Unbelieveable. All that sodding walking too!
Yet, this is the time the old me would have thrown in the towel, but I’m raring to go – I’ve had the best time, but the proof of the pudding is pulling it all back.
Fasting tomorrow, and Thursday, will see how it goes, maybe Saturday. It will be interesting to see how quickly I can get back to 81kg but hey, its not a race.
Salma, you sound like things are starting to look up, I’m with you all the way.
So strange, really looking forward to some plain(ish) salad and giving my tum a good rest. And I bought so much that l’m going to be too busy selling it to stop for food – hopefully.
Hi to all new people, you will think me very strange but I worked extra hard before I left for my trip to get my weight down, so that I could relax, my original target was 83kg by the first of April, even with that 2.5 kilo gain, I had given myself a good margin and I’m still well on target. This is a great WOE (way of Life) and WOE (way of eating), especially for the FA (Foodies Anonymous) among us!!!
Of course, the OH had managed to put on half a pound, eating loads more than I, though he isn’t a wino like me – these skinnies really are a trial sometimes.
Now to plan my next trip – might do another Copenhagen soon, but a quickie, then to tackle France and Italy, together – OMG!!!!! But not until June. Thank goodness!
Glad the scale was kind to you this morning Salma, mine was too! The under 1000 plan is what I’m heading to as well. Mon & Wed will be 500 calorie days, Thursday & Saturday will be 1,000 calorie days and Tuesday, Friday and Sunday will be whatever days. I’m hoping keeping Saturday a lower day will help me keep things in control over the weekend.
Heading to boot camp soon to beat on the heavy bag. Should be fun!
Have a good Tuesday!
I second welcoming Milena back. I’m guessing you knew you would go off during your trip, but in a way you can plan for that and as you are doing, go right back on the wagon now that you’re home. Glad to hear the scales are cooperating for most of us. I’m already looking forward to weighing myself when I wake up. Have a great day one and all!
Started my FD on Sunday evening intending to have breakfast this morning but didn’t feel hungry, so decided to leave it until lunchtime. Then I started building some furniture and forgot about lunch, only noticing when I started to feel hungry at 3.00pm. Is this a risky strategy or do some people do their two fast days consecutively?
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