Good Morning!

Salma…I loved your “gem of wisdom” for the day! You are certainly correct. With all the horrific things that happen in the world, our struggles with some extra pounds seem quite trivial.

I took the day off boot camp but am still up at 4:15AM! I seem to have lost the ability to sleep in. When we’re on holiday, we’ll be in a different time zone and will probably be wide awake by 2AM. There’s a 3 hour time difference between here and there. Which also means I’ll be ready for bed by 6PM! On the flip side, when we come home after 2 weeks, it’ll be hard to get up in the morning!

I’ll be having a low calorie day today. Not exactly a fast, but low for me. I have an appointment after work for a hair cut & color and a pedicure, so no dinner for me. The salon always gives me a glass of wine, so that will be my dinner! 😉

Hope you all have a wonderful day!

Quiet not quite! That’s what happens when you don’t proofread and hit send!

Hello all,

Thanks for the welcome. I finished my first FD yesterday. It wasn’t so bad. Maybe that’s because I was already doing 16:8. Who knows? Anyway the scale budged down 3 lbs. I know it’s not necessary fat, but I’ll take it! Going to do a second tomorrow though I can’t say I’m looking forward to it.

I have noticed that some of you set targets for, say, Christmas. How do you pick your numbers? Is it a mathematical formula or something you think is possible from experience?

Sunshine to everyone, Pam

Hi MM. I do have two black dogs. Their names are Ladybird and Butterbean, lab-mix girls from the same litter and adopted from the SPCA in Wake Co. NC. I love them slavishly! There is almost no unhappiness that a cuddle with them won’t mitigate.

Thanks for the encouragement. Pam

Hi everyone!

Hope you all are doing well! We are still sweltering with a chance of a slight break in the weather by this weekend and next week’s temps definitely heading down.

Went to the naturopath MD this morning. Went through some lab results. Apparently all is pretty good with the following exceptions: I have basically no estrogen/progesterone on board (could have told her that…menopause hit 7 yrs ago!); high LDL cholesterol but ALSO high good HDL cholesterol which is supposed to be protective and can negate the bad LDL a bit?- I’m going to do that lipid density test (to see if it’s really a problem) before I get on any natural cholesterol reducing formulas since they can also have some negative impacts on your body like the pharmaceutical ones do. Also, apparently I’m really low on serotonin! Geez, didn’t need a blood test to tell me that one! So I’ve been prescribed 5HTP at bedtime, and L-theanine to improve sleep and increase serotonin. Oh, and also Inositol for that purpose.

Also discussed the value of using bio-identical progesterone cream. I’m still on the fence. She said if you don’t use much it shouldn’t cause weight gain and a lot of times the weight gain happens in people who use it before they’re officially through menopause. I also read online that progesterone taken topically can accumulate in your fat cells since your body can’t easily get rid of it? So confusing!

I also have a common genetic condition where my body doesn’t properly utilize (or methylate) B vitamins which can cause a whole host of issues from cardio to inability of your liver to detoxify, etc. so I have to take special methylated B’s.

Today is a fast day and a crazy one at that! Came home just now to eat a quick, light lunch and then head to kids’ school for a teacher conference and to pick up at least 3 of the kids, then back again for the 4th when he finishes rehearsals, then back yet again for high school Back to School Night.I should just set up a tent at that flipping school!

Salma, so sorry for your experiences/loss in Lebanon. So thankful you were able to get out and start a new life in the UK! I don’t know why weight is so stubborn at our ages?! It is just frustrating! I can’t tell you how many times I’ve marked off what my weight loss should be on a calendar going forward and I almost never make those goals even figuring just 3-4 lbs a month! We have to just keep concentrating on the fact that overall it’s going in the right direction and like many of you’ve said, at least you’re better off now than you would’ve been had you not been doing this!

Great job Pam! 3 lbs is wonderful! Your babies sound beautiful! I love black labs.

Lori, if we don’t hear from you, have a wonderful trip. Other than seeing Jayney, any particular things/sights you’ll be doing/seeing while in Seattle?

Have a great day all!

Sherry

Thanks everyone for your great and interesting posts. I dont have anything particularly great or inspiring to say except I am persevering with the 2 days a week fasts. I have no idea my weight as I hate and get very depressed by numbers on the scale , so prefer to go by clothes. I have just done my 4th week of 5:2 and I put on a nightgown which, as my usual size of medium we TIGHT in the tummy 4 weeks ago…. and last night it was a teeny bit LOOSE. I still am not believing that I have actually lost weight. But I think it is true….. Its not huge change , some of my other clothes feel about the same, but because of what everyone else keeps saying… slow, steady, stick with it, ,,,,,, I will! I actually am liking the fast days! BUT as much as I vow to fast ( on eating days) until the 16:8 time period, I still find myself eating earlier! I just wonder if I could eliminate that earlier eating and just go till the 16 hour mark on eating days, and then also reign in the cals……BUT maybe I am thinking too much. Maybe just fasting 2 days and relaxing on eating days, not being so hard on self…..maybe that is the trick to make it a lifelong way of life.
Well sorry I have been going on and on
On another note. ….I have 4 cats, all were strays at some point. No I am not a crazy cat lady , I never meant to have 4! BUT they all found me recently…. and I am hoping and planning to get my own place ( to be free of a relationship that is not working for me at all) ….and 2 of the cats do not get along. One attacks the other. I am ready to get a cat behaviorist in the picture!
SO maybe the stress of wanting a different life is not good for the weight….
Well thanks for “listening” … Bye everyone! Opal

Hi Pam, welcome.. I only joined earlier this week too….

Best of luck…

Hi all. Fasting today. Actually I’m trying a different window, skipping lunch and having only a light dinner, then skipping breakfast and fasting till a late lunch tomorrow. Salma, Sherry those pounds are stubborn, aren’t they. Sherry, like you, I was really surprised that the scale actually went up after my last fast day. We’ll see what it does tomorrow. I just keep telling myself that, overall, I’m down a few pounds which is an improvement from having the scale keep inching up.

Good luck Typhoon and Pam and congrats to Opal for the looser clothes. Hope those of us who weigh can get that scale moving again.

MM

Have a wonderful time, Lori!

MM

More soon but I wanted to say thank you my dear friends for your comments! This is such a wonderful group of amazing people! I wish you all the best and success, and will write more this weekend! Stay cool ladies! ?????

Hi Girls,

Ate a little badly late yesterday. Can’t exactly say why? Tired (haven’t been sleeping well due the back and heat), which may explain throwing caution to the wind.

Going to a family diabetes conference today to learn advanced ways to utilized my daughter’s new insulin pump. Hoping we get some good tips because so far, the thing has been a bit of a PITA sometimes. My eldest daughter was volunteered by her parents 😉 to help babysit children of the parents attending. She stomped up and down about that, but we reminded her that her school requires 30 hours of volunteering per kid each year and she is never good at setting these things up for herself. Let her bring a friend who also needs the hours so now she’s relatively happy. Ugh! Teens!

Afterwards, heading to the beach where my mom’s newish husband is having his family reunion with people coming from all over the States. They rent beach condos and hang out for a couple weeks and eat and drink…sounds fun! I will have to watch that I don’t overdo the food (the drink I could take or leave).

Bea, I will do more investigating into the 5HTP and all the other stuff the Dr. prescribed before I go forth with it. I just haven’t had time this week yet to do so. Thanks for the heads up! Yes, the hot flashes are devilish. If you can get your neck and feet cool, I’ve found it makes all the difference. If I just kick off my shoes and put my hair up in a clip, I can avert most flashes. I have a friend with MS who swears by this towel that you “snap” so that it gets cold and she puts it around her neck. There are also pillows out there that have some sort of cooling material that helps with night sweats. Best of luck in the house hunt!

MM, I’m going to try a different little eating experiment next week too to get the momentum going. I think part of the above bad eating episode was due to the frustration I’ve been feeling with regard to moving the needle downward on the scale. I can do anything well for quite a while as long as it’s working for me and based on staying the same for the last month, I need to do something different (especially with Hawaii looming next month). I’ll report back as to how it’s going!

Opal, Cinque, Pam, Hope you are all doing well! Milena and Salma, where are you?…don’t you love that I’m always checking up on you? You two are the fearless leaders of our site, you can’t be MIA!

Have a great weekend ladies! 🙂

Sherry

It is a lovely sunny morning full of birdcalls here
I missed Dr Solution!

Menopause moment: When I was having bad hot flushes I felt them snap on, mainly across my chest and, as well as throwing off a layer of clothes, I found a cold drink of water, even just a mouthful or two, helped enormously.

Not Fasting today, I think I can manage it tomorrow. I have had such a busy week, today is going to be as quiet as I can make it. I think the only thing I have to do is buy some milk.

Cheers everyone and best wishes for a good day!

Hi all,

What is “Doctor Solution”?! I must have missed that one? Something someone posted and then was pulled?

Opal, Firstly, I hate to even mention the word “diet” here, because most of us on this site are just “done” with doing diets (myself included). I love the idea of the fasting way of life/eating. It’s so simple and liberating. That being said, I need something at this point in time to kick my butt into gear! We all have to do what we think is individually best. I’ve had some good success in the past with the Fast Metabolism Diet…I just got bored with it and I think that’s because I went on and off of it for quite a while. You can google it if interested but basically you eat a lot of healthy veggies and protein throughout the week but Mon & Tues you concentrate on higher carb low glycemic grains, and higher sugar fruits (no fat), Wed and Thurs no grains/fruit/fat, just veg and protein (can’t lie, this is the hard part!), and Fri-Sun is higher in good fats like nuts, olive and coconut oils, smaller amounts. of low glycemic grains and less sugary fruits. This is in an effort to confuse your body which leads to weight loss. I think I will incorporate the fasting on Thurs and Sun. Btw, I also noticed when I was eating this way that my LDL cholesterol was a lot lower, possibly because I ate a good deal of steel cut oats.

I’m hoping that in combination with fasting two days a week that this will give me the kick start I need. When I get bored, I might go back to traditional fasting. We’ll see. All I know is I need to make a change. Like I’ve said in the past, I’ve noticed a few people on here, Jayney included, put their own spin on this fasting plan and have been super successful, so I’m going to try mixing it up too.

So that’s my plan! I’m going to start tomorrow and do it until I leave for Hawaii October 9th. We will see how it goes!

I was going to fast today, but just got an invite from my sister who’s camping at the beach to come down with the kids to ride jet ski’s (can I even fit my fat butt into board shorts at this point? I think not!) and bbq. So the fast may not happen.

Have a great Sunday ladies!

Hi everyone

Aw, how nice to be missed, just had a busy week standing at the local antiques fair, Friday set up and two days, on top of all the preparation, I think I did too much.

Someone shouted a really snarky, nasty comment to me, usually I’m queen of the putdown to rude people, but I was almost in tears, when she came to my stall I had to walk away. So not like me, felt I’ll all weekend, doing too much too soon.

Sherry, I try to mix things up too. Since 1st September the plan has been 2 or 3 fasts, 2 or 3 semi fasts, total 5 days. 2 days normal but very mindful. Until Christmas. First two weeks not finished yet, but I think it will be 4/5lb lost. Trying to stop yoyoing, have another trip to Copenhagen in a month, hopefully I can do two semi fasts and two normal days while away, and come back without a gain. That’s the plan, it will be interesting to know if it works.

Hope everyone is ready for a new week, enjoy the rest of Sunday, then tuck in your chin and make this week count!!!

Hope Lori and Jayney are having a great time!!!!

PIFF!!! so, this month has been a discovery about what a maintenance regime would look like…. about 20 kgs too early, I have to admitt. I eat too much, plain and simple. I am O+ blood which is theorised to not shed wieght easily when there are wheat carbs and sugar carbs. I have to drink even less alcohol than I have been lately, and am eating hardly any rice, and no pasta, PIZZA off the agenda, and my favorite, homepopped popcorn… It is not the butter, but the starch that my body seems to store immediately. So, it is as much greens and protein as possible. No beer. I have poached my cod fillets in beer in the microwave!! I drink plant ‘milk’in my tea on ‘healing’ days to allow me more calories for the pure protein, and greens.
I am still cold water swimming and walking 40 mins, and trimming up quite delightfully if not rapidly.
I, as does Opalshine, prefer to stay off the scales for the most part. I rather assess by clothes that fit again or new ones that look better than could even be hoped for…
One ‘top’ that I bought off the rack on sale was not a tunic top but actually a short linen dress which actually, I could’ve worn as a dress if the weather had been warmer!!!
I had a brief period of rebellion against the 500 kcal days. I have found that drinking teas and liquids are the best intake for starting off a feeding day after a fast/healing day. I got nauseous when I had a chewable breakfast right off the bat early morning. Many people mentioned eating dates, and they have been a godsend for the toilet visits and keeping me going in a regualar fashion.
Both my husband and I are doing 4:3. It keeps us reined in, and helps us when 1 day does not really go to plan.
yesterday’s fasting day went very well. No cravings. All the best to you, fingers crossed for us all!

HI Cinque

I am usually the queen of the pithy comebacks though – not on form unfortunately, I think my OH was more surprised than me that I just walked away from her. Though on the bright side, my son and are are best pals at the moment, he must be eaten up with boredom cos he can’t do anything, and when he is bored he usually spends his time arguing black is white just for the fun of it.

Hi Ladyfilosopher – I so agree, I think its the idea that there is no going back is liberating – and sad. I think maintenance will be interesting, if we ever get there. I’ve had a few rebellions myself – the veggies in the kitchen still quake when I go in, and I can’t always be trusted with a cucumber, they do snap in half so well!

Hi Sherryan, yup, in addition to the enforced fast last month – bloating is going down too, so I can finally see a bit of a difference. Just need to start the fitbit steps.

Christmas stuff in the shops already, it will be here before we know it – and Bea – a cruise, how lovely. Tuck that chin in and plan to do it – its the only way – in 8 weeks you CAN make a difference, and that means in eight weeks you will be so very pleased. Go for it! Then you can enjoy the cruise, and you will have another few weeks to sort out Christmas! Have you tried cold showers for the hot flushes, well not all cold, just turn it to cold after your shower and count to 100 out loud – as fast as you like – try it – it only feels like masochism the first dozen times!

Jayney, your imput is always welcome – you are our success story, we need to know you are managing maintenance!

Take care everyone – and travel hopefully!

Hello,

LadyF, nice to see you pop back in! Glad the weight loss is going so well! Also, since you are enjoying your dates, here’s an easy recipe I just tried that the kids love!

Date Brownie Bites

1 cup pitted, chopped dates
1 1/2 cup chopped walnuts
pinch of salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch)

Add walnuts and salt to food processor. Mix until finely ground. Add the dates, vanilla and cocoa powder and mix all until well combined. With motor running, add a couple drops of water at a time until the mixture starts to stick together. Transfer mixture to a bowl and form into small balls. Store in an airtight container in the frig for up to a week.

Hope you enjoy it!

Milena, you keep reminding us of Christmas right around the corner (I know…to keep our eye on the ball!)! It stresses me out just thinking about it. From October through the end of the year I have all my kids’ birthdays, Thanksgiving, and all the stuff that goes with Christmas. While fun, it’s always too much going on for me in a short period of time. Btw, no comment from you on the Nicky Butler question?

Pam, sorry you are down! We All have days like that I think on this plan and in general! I think you have the right idea in thinking about what you really want to eat when you can eat it and satisfying yourself. I can’t remember, are you able to exercise at all? Because that can help in lifting the spirits too.

Well our heat is mostly gone and we have stormy skies forming. Expecting much needed rain tonight into tomorrow…YAY!

Husband leaving soon on long business trip…not YAY! It’s a lot of work for one person with four kids and one of them not well. You don’t get a lot of sleep many nights when you’re up constantly checking blood sugar levels. Please keep me in your prayers if you are the praying type! 😉

G’Night ladies!

Hi Sherryann

I did reply, but it must have gone into the ether! I have a couple of pieces, amazing what you get on ebay! Check out Pat Cheney, Norman Grant and Ola Gorie. And of course Georg Jensen, Tone Vigeland, Laponnia and David Andersen. I specialise in Scottish and Scandinavian. Going to see a collection of Scottish Agates next week – bores the pants of me! lol !

Sorry to stress you re Christmas – my busy time workwise, it goes ballistic, and tax returns to do as well, but my favorite time of year. Love it!

Heck it won’t be so difficult – Mary had to go miles and miles on a donkey, heavily pregnant, no chance of a postal registration so she could have stayed home – and Joseph obviously forgot to book the hotel – where’s lastminute.com when you need it? And who wants three royals turning up when you have just shoved out a bairn – sorry, brought the Lord Jesus in the world – bet it was no less painful though! AND she had to go through the ritual of thanking them for totally inappropriate presents,the start of another Christmas ritual, smiling and thinking ‘Really? You saw that and thought of me?’

Ok the gold was welcome, but frankincense and myrhh? A babygrow and a hat would have been MUCH better, whats the good of smelling nice when there was only swaddling for that bairn – and a proper cot would have gone down well too! And all the shepherds turning up for a keek as well, with their smelly sheep, just when all she would have wanted was a nice cuppa and a quiet night. And if anyone had remarked the baby looked exactly like his father Joseph – well that might have started the first Christmas family fallout – a tradition kept to this day in many a household! Aye, I’ll bet we will have an easier time than the first Christmas!

That’s why I try as best as I can to avoid fashion magazines or celebrity magazines. I lived a long time in Los Angeles and the craze to be thin was just so much stress. It was in your face at every turn. In some ways it was inspiring but in most ways discouraging because our variety of body shapes and bones was not ever allowed. Men yes. They can be big boned or slim boned but women. Gotta be in the size 2 to 0 jeans ( of which I never ever ever could wear because I am not built that way!) sooooo long story I now just avoid anything celebrity. I live in a small town and it’s a little easier. But I still want to take care of myself and look nice as I know we all do
I remember weight watcher always said just aim for 5 lbs. and so if we try just one more time to have 2 good fast days I am going on week 5 I believe fasting tomorrow. And it is getting a little easier. Maybe if we could take our weight or size out of the picture for a while and just feel better. Feel better with some hunger pangs etc. I am really trying to do that and believe me I get very down when I’m at the mirror. But I try to say something nice to myself to break the evil mirror spell. LOL.
Hang in there everyone. We can all help each other stay happy and positive one posting at a time !!???

2BlackDogs, Well done getting through a hard day! It does make a difference, and you will lose weight much more quickly than you put it on (presuming that was over a few years).

Hunger pangs are so hard, but notice how they come and go. You will work out strategies to get though the difficult times, and once you start noticing clothes fitting better, and getting looser, you will know it is worth it. Only two days a week! We can manage that!

How are you feeling this morning?

Evening here! So good evening!

Morning all. Much happier today. Thanks for all the supportive words. I’ve been out in the sun drinking tea with the dogs. It’s a beautiful day full of glistening spider webs and birdsong. I’ll definitely get my light box going today to stave off any further funks.

Milena, I see myself as a cocktail of Michelle Pfeiffer, Catherine Zeta-Jones and a large dollop of Judy Garland in The Good Old Summer Time, wearing that red dress, arms flinging wildly, singing “I Don’t Care.” I’ll take a sprinkle of that cast of Keira Knightly, if you don’t mind. Thanks for the idea. It amused me greatly while I lay in bed with my belly grumbling at 2 AM.

I hope everyone has a wildly happy and successful day. P

Ok so I have to jump in on this conversation! Hmmm, I think I would choose Sofia Vergara as the main course with a side of Angelina Jolie and I like the idea of Keira Knightly too! Sofia’s body style is more to my liking (as I tend to be more hourglass shaped with a bit of a pear emphasis) than Angelina and Keira who are more waif-like. Interesting I chose all brunettes being that I’m blonde (well, I was as a child and am now chemically blonde!). Come to think of it, Sofia is a blonde in real life and dyes her hair brunette!

MM, I loved Meryl Streep in the French Lieutenant’s Woman! You must be a classical beauty to have been compared to her! And, your extended birthday now being over, I’m sure this week will get you right back on track.

And yes, I’d love to be one of those celebrities that checks themselves into the fat farm for a month of luscious low cal meals, exercise, and massages/facials and emerges at the end of the month 10 lbs. lighter! But alas, we live in the real world where we have to slog along and do our best! We live not 10 minutes away from one of the most famous of those spas, “the Golden Door” and whenever I drive by I crane my neck up toward the hiking paths on the hill hoping to see some poor celebrity at their sweaty worst! 😉

Milena, you need to add your version of the Christmas Story to your comedy bit!

The revised eating plan is going “according to plan”. I don’t feel like weighing at this point, so I’m not. That’s my plan and I’m sticking to it (for now at least!).

Adios for now!

Sherry

MM, I’m sure there’s more to the comparison on the FLW than the red hair and complexion! Btw, my almost 15 year old has curly red hair and very fair skin. She was complaining to me last summer as we sat on Kailua beach as to why is she the only one in the family that has to be “so white” and afraid of burning in the sun. I told her, “Sorry, that’s just the way it is for redheads, they’re typically fair skinned.” No sooner did I say this than two little BRIGHT red headed very tan Hawaiian boys ran by us into the water! She then looked at me like “really’?! Thinking they dyed their hair, I just had to ask. The one boy rolled his eyes and said, “Everyone asks me where I got my hair…it’s from my Grandpa.”

Re: the potential cold, I start popping Cold-eez zinc lozenges whenever my kids start getting sick and usually (knock on wood) avoid getting sick. That plus a Chinese herbal formula called Gan Mao Ling works wonders. Might give it a go!

Sherry

PS Minnesota Miss, I too once had long curly red hair * but I was not born that way 🙂
I still have a love for red hair!!

Good morning everyone,

Opal I usually go over 500 calories (but always well below the 800 calories they used for 5:2 on ‘What’s the Right Diet for You?’). I figure that it is working, so I don’t give myself a hard time, and as I go on I get more of an idea how to manage, and what I can manage and I am getting closer to 500 each Fast Day. It suits me, and I figure that I will need to eat less as I lose weight (and my TDEE goes down) so I am doing it the right way round!

Fast Day today and I am off to have my little bowl of oat porridge.

Re all those beautiful actresses, I can’t decide. So many ways of being beautiful! I like faces with lots of character, and I really like the people who aren’t afraid to let themselves look older (although I understand all the pressure not to!).

I hope today is a good day! Best wishes