Mid Fifties – Just starting and hoping to lose weight (yet again)?!

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carolinacatz

2:22 pm
4 Mar 16
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Hello, ladies! I let a few days slip by. My fast day went well although I realized that this week I could have done my usual Monday fast because my daughter’s symphony practice was cancelled on Tuesday so we would have had more chances to eat together, but it’s fine. I’m fasting today instead of yesterday because I went on a little excursion with three moms from our neighborhood yesterday. So this week has been mixed but I do seem to have at least recovered from the brunch buffet on Sunday!!

Salma, your town sounds lovely!

Lori and Cinque, I don’t know if I’ve mentioned that I struggle with migraines. Anyway, there is a mood component that sounds like what you describe. No fun! Just remember you will feel better again….it’s like the weather and blows on through.

Briar Rose, the salad sounds great!

iouabook, love your username!! I hit walls like that. Have you tried shaking things up a bit–switching out an exercise, trying a new food on fast day? Also, exercise can have a temporary negative effect–it will pay off down the road! Do your clothes feel better??

We are going to my inlaws Saturday evening and I hope I don’t eat too much….

Have a great weekend, everyone!!!

Cinque

10:39 pm
4 Mar 16
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Good morning! From cool, grey, blissful Melbourne 🙂

Hi Iouabook! How frustrating! But I’d blame crazy hormones. I bet they are setting off stuff that makes you retain water. Also I have heard (but might have it confused) that with gym, if you are pushing yourself and little muscles tear a bit, you get some inflammation and again your body uses water to help in the healing process.

I was just listening to Michael Mosely (he is/has been in Australia spruiking the new book and diet plan) saying that exercising is not very useful for weight loss. So, maybe don’t push the exercise too hard, try not to hate menopause too much, and just keep going on what has been working so well.

Re feeling hungry all the time, might your food choices have changed a bit when you began gym? More fruit or sweet things or those refined carbs? That sets off hunger cycles for me.

I hope you can work it out!

Salma I got home from Sydney exhausted and thirsty and did the same overeating thing. Luckily I have no oreos in the house! I had toast and vegemite, toast and peanut butter, and then cashews. Then I managed to go for a short walk, then make a big pot of chai, and I could calm myself down.

I’m feeling okay today though! (so far!!!!)

Btw, it is a long slow process, but our brains can rewire. Keep at it. Maybe next time it will only be 6 oreos! Best wishes lovely Salma!

Hi Lori,
Good luck to your grandson in the game!
I do hope you can get all those things done. Will Florida be Recharge Time, or do you need to fit in in around it all? I do hope it all gets easier!

CC my sympathy with the migraines. My whole family gets them, and I get them the lightest of all, so I feel very lucky. I hope you have caught up with your fasts! I do so prefer when they bump along gently in a nice rhythm through the weeks. But it sounds like you have kept them from wriggling too much!
Best wishes for that meal with your in laws. I hope you eat just the amount you want to!

I’m fasting tomorrow, and going shopping with my friend on Tuesday, so I am going to eat out of my freezer, panty and garden until then. Even though the garden was badly heat effected from my absence during a late heatwave. There are still greens 🙂 I have plenty of food, but no eggs or yoghurt which tend to be standbys. It is an adventure.

Lori_PA

11:02 am
5 Mar 16
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Good Morning Fasting friends!

Well, my FD’s this week just took awhile to show up on the scale. I finally saw the new decade on the scale this morning! That after having a beer last night! I’m telling you….beer is the secret! ROFL! I did read somewhere this week that we always expect to see a lower number on the scale on the day after a fast day, but sometimes it takes a day or 2 after for the loss to show. Odd, right? Whatever…feeling good this morning. Kind of sad that I allow the scale to determine my mood. I really need to work on that. It’s only a number, after all.

We’ll be heading to the basketball game in a couple hours. Should be a fun time and then out to lunch with our daughter and the boys. She has 2 sons, one is 12 and the younger is 7. It is the 7 year old who has the game today.

Tomorrow I think I’ll start doing some organizing of my packing for our Florida trip. A bit under 2 weeks till we go! YAY! I’m so looking forward to some sun and relaxation.

Have a great weekend!

carolinacatz

4:26 pm
5 Mar 16
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Popping on before we go to my inlaws this afternoon. I need to be very mindful of what I do there. It’s comfort food–good but not awesome and really not worth blowing it!!!! I need a mantra–don’t blow it? Not worth it?

I was generally pleased with weigh in this morning. I’m almost back to my post holiday low, which was just a pound and a half off my pre-holiday low. Once I hit that I’ll consider myself on a roll again!!!

Lori, you are a young grandmother! Or I guess I’m an old mom, haha. My youngest daughter is 12. My oldest son is 20 and he is in Vienna and Budapest for spring break, which makes me a little antsy. I’m not so used to my kids being on a different continent. He goes to college in Pittsburgh and took a night bus to Boston, spent a few hours seeing the city, took an evening flight on WOW (Icelandic airline) to Dusseldorf via Iceland (can’t spell their capitol, haha). I’m not sure how he got from Dusseldorf to Vienna. Sounds exhausting!! But he slept five hours on the plane, which is amazing since he’s six foot five. I can’t sleep on planes.

Cinque, I think you are right about our brains rewiring!!! It takes longer than it used to, doesn’t it?

So, I’m going to pledge not to lose it today!!! Hold me to it!!!!

Cinque

11:33 pm
5 Mar 16
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Hold on CC! And Lori too! So exciting to hit milestones.

I’m having a fast day. Just about to make my coffee. It seems even more of a treat on my fast day. (One day I will rewire my brain enough to have coffee-free fast days! Maybe.)

Lori you had better patent your beer diet. Sell it that it is one beer a day and you can attest that it leads to weight loss, and then in tiny writing you can add fast days, eating windows, low carb and boot camp!

It sounds like your son is having such a wonderful time Catz! (Do you prefer Catz or CC or would you like the whole CarolinaCatz?)
Do you know, when I went overseas I had no thought for what my mum would be feeling! And that was years before text messages and skype etc.

And yes, it is a long slow rewiring for me!

Hi everyone else! Best wishes for a good day!

Briar Rose

1:09 am
6 Mar 16
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Well it looks like j lost a post. I wrote a nice long one in the bath after market today and no sign of it here! Oh boy!
Congrats Lori! Love the idea of a beer diet!!
I tried on a dress this morning that I had bought myself about a month or more ago. It was too small … But I bought it anyways … One of those great finds at a thrift shop … Anyways. I was able to do it up this morning … Too tight to wear … But I got the zipper zipped!! … In the change room when I tried it on I couldn’t even get the zipper to close … So that’s progress!! Slow and steady I guess.
Tonight I rewatched parts of the 5:2 documentary. So inspiring .. I truly hope they recap with more info on the human studies.
Well will catch up again soon … Cinque .. I love your idea of all of us cooking Labanese food!

salma

6:19 am
6 Mar 16
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Good Sunday morning girls,

Big congratulations to Catz and Lori! I know how much Lori had been struggling with the magic number.. so very well done to both of you. I am right there (way far back) behind you 🙂 I have to say, though, that I like the idea of the beer diet!

Briar Rose and Cinque.. I am ready to provide recipes any time if the thought appeals. Lebanese food is good and there are many vegetarian (and otherwise) dishes that can fit very nicely into mindful eating. Just say the word.

Briar Rose.. isn’t it maddening when you have spent a good deal of time writing a post only to have it disappear? I think this site needs to do something about this as it keeps happening to different people. Congratulations on the zipped up dress. When I was in the States last month, I picked up a dress (an 80% sale) at a really good price but that does not look that great at the moment. I had in the back of my mind the same thing you are doing.. that it will be my ‘tape measure’. It is so much more effective than actually weighing and taking measurements.

Take care everyone and have a great day.
Salma

Cinque

6:43 am
6 Mar 16
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Hi Briar Rose! That is my favourite thing! NOT losing posts, but buying clothes a little bit small and keeping on trying them on as I lose weight, until they fit, and then become comfy! I am a great thrift shopper (we call the Opportunity Shops here, op shops for short, and I check them out regularly).
It is much more fun than weighing!

Let’s make a date to cook Lebanese? How about the week starting 13/14th? We will make it the whole week to make it easy. Salma will be sure to contribute, just by cooking normally! and hopefully a few others will make something too. Just one little lovely Lebanese recipe! A whole week to decide which one!

Here’s some inspiration for anyone who wants it! http://lebanese.food.com/healthy?pn=2

I hope you held through the day CC!

speckles

8:34 am
6 Mar 16
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Hi All, so glad I found this forum. I started on the 5;2 10 days ago and have been doing 4:3 to give myself a kick start.So far I have lost 3kg but I expect some of that is water only. I don’t mind the fasting days at all because I don’t get hungry till I eat, so I just drink a lot of water, black coffee and herbal tea till dinner time then have a salad with protein. The days I find hardest are the non FDays as I just don’t know how much to eat or if I should have a protein shakes for b’fast and lunch and just have some snacks if I am hungry. It would fit within the guidelines I think but doesn’t teach good eating habits. Also I don’t work set days so cant just decide that Mon & Thu will be FDs, I am going to have to jiggle it around a bit.
Thankfully I am on my own and that does make it easier. I am aiming to lose 15kg initially which would take me to below 100kg which I haven’t been since “menopause started” about 5 yrs ago. I suddenly developed a tyre around my upper abdo which I had never had before.UGH!
I am hoping to have a breast reduction and need to lose weight and get fit first- fair enough I say so lets get going. Getting fit is more of a problem as I have had so many surgeries on my back and hips that I find walking more than a few minutes too much so I have to pause for a while. I love swimming but that doesn’t get my cardio up at all, just good for me.
Has anyone ever used the “wiggle board” that you stand on it – it simulates you walking/jogging/running dependant on speed? If so how was it. I know once I lose weight it will make walking easier but at the moment it is just too much to do for any length of time to get cardio working.
Years ago – ( 20yrs) I did a meal replacement for an entire year. I lost 30kg and felt great but I still had massive bust and was so out of proportion and was so self conscious about it. I also count wear clothes of a smaller size as I had to accommodate the bust. So this time when I “release” this weight I am going to make sure I am in proportion.
Thanks for listening.

Caroline64

8:58 am
6 Mar 16
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Welcome Speckles!
I am 52 and have been doing this for 59 days now. I am not able to do cardio as I am in bed on an oxygen machine but I do try to do the little exercises highlighted by Michael Moseley on BBC’s Trust Me, I’m a Doctor! (e.g when cleaning one’s teeth!)
Perhaps because I am inactive I have dropped my daily target calories from 1200 to 1000 and now 800. I also do 2 FAST days and the 12 hour restriction. In 60 days I have lost 4kg so it is slow – and the weight stays the same for ages then suddenly drops in a step.
Keeping track of my calories is easy and, I suggest, necessary for taking control when the going gets tough (slow) – reading packets, weighing stuff and using the NHS Choices programme – http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/weight-loss-guide/Pages/calorie-counting.aspx – to get the values and then an Excel spreadsheet.

I have never done this before as I never needed to! I can empathise re the tyre and breasts – oh and the delights of Intertrigo…
All the best!

Lori_PA

10:01 am
6 Mar 16
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Good Morning!

Oh my Cinque…I had a look at the Lebanese recipes…I’ll enjoy hearing about what you all make, but I’m afraid my low carb life would not too readily fit into any of those recipes, not to mention my husband would look at it and say “What is this?” LOL!

We had a nice day with our daughter and grandsons yesterday. Our grandson had a good basketball game and scored 12 points. He was so excited. We all went out to lunch and had a good time. I stayed true to my eating plan at the restaurant and came away feeling quite virtuous! 😉 I was rewarded with another new low on the scale this morning! YAY!

I’m up way too early for a Sunday morning and am getting hungry already! I find it nearly impossible to fast when I’m at home all day. What am I going to do when I retire in October?? I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it. For now, I’ll be happy with fasting a few days during the week and enjoy my weekends as they are.

Have good days!

Cinque

11:14 am
6 Mar 16
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What about the lentil and yoghurt salad Lori? Or the White bean, tuna and spinach salad? There is BBQ chicken!
Oh well, I understand about husbands with conservative tastes, we will tell you what we make and you can enjoy it that way!

What an excellent grandson! Woot for his 12 points!
Congrats for your excellent restaurant choices and hooray that the scales behaved themselves (for once)!!!!!

Welcome Speckles and Caroline!

Many of us find the non fast days as problematic as the fast days. They take practice working out and need to evolve over time.
My plan was to keep my non fast days normal (I ate healthy food, didn’t count calories – But overate fairly often).

After a couple of weeks of fasting I started noticing changes on my non fast days: I was feeling full with smaller portions, and it was easier not to snack.
It is taking plenty of practice to refine these skills: to judge accurately how big a portion I need, what will make me feel satisfied, what will make me feel over full.

The fasting is untangling all my food issues, so I am working out what sets me off overeating, and ways to stop it. So each non fast day is like a practice session for when I have got to my healthy shape and want to eat normally.

On fast days we are learning Fasting 101, on non fast days we are learning Eating Normally 101! I is a great journey!

I am not able to exercise due to chronic illness (ME/CFS). I can do some very slow yoga stretches on my good days. That is it. But 5:2 is about intermittent fasting: exercise is not part of it. Just concentrate on the fasting and you will be fine.

Infact I heard Dr Mosley (on Australian program Insight last week) saying that research shows that exercise isn’t very useful when losing weight, although it is very useful once you have lost weight, to then keep stable. I’ll search out the info if you like.

Caroline it must be hard to manage life spending most of it stuck in bed on an oxygen machine. Cheers to you for doing 5:2! It will make a wonderful difference losing the excess weight. I had to look up intertrigo, ouch! It will be so nice when that is lessened!

Congratulations Speckles on that first 3 kg gone. Isn’t it nice the way it goes quickly at first. It feels so good!
For some reason we lose the bits we most want to lose last! For me it is the last tummy fat and the band around my upper arms and breasts. It is going though! Persistence is everything!

I’ve just finished my Sunday Fast. It has been a good day, and productive too, in a laid back Sunday way (apart from the rubbish bins! The shared bins! They were in a dreadful state).

Cheers to everyone and may today (or tomorrow, if it is night time where you are, as it is here) be a lovely fast day, or a lovely non fast day, on this 5:2 journey.

speckles

11:53 am
6 Mar 16
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Gosh Caroline, I am so sorry to hear you are bed-ridden. I take my hat off to you for going with the 5;2, as we all know when you are inactive those fat cells just jump for joy and party unless you give them a kick. Good for you also to be doing anything that keeps you moving no matter how little.
For you and anyone else who is interested, I have started visualising walking and going up stairs. I sit quietly where I wont be disturbed and “feel myself” walking along a path/ road meadow then getting faster and faster till I can feel my visualised heart racing. Interestingly my actual heart rate goes up though not as mush but I read somewhere that by doing this we are getting our muscles to anticipate a work-out and act as if there had been one.
Cinque, I like you idea of FD 101 and non FD 101. I can see how that would work. I also know that my weight is a barrier to make me feel safe which is why I like to think of it as releasing weight rather than losing it. I saw the Insight program – am in Sydney, and have read his book. I am counting calories and bought the recipe book though for 1 person who is allergic to seafood there isn’t as much in there as I had hoped.
You sound like me. I am in a unit block and feel like the garbage Nazi. All the bins are next to my unit and I am constantly sorting the rubbish that people have put in the wrong bin.
Well the end of another day and I am off to bed. FD tomorrow as I am working and I have prepared my chicken and salad for when I get home.
Zzzzzzz

salma

3:38 pm
6 Mar 16
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My posts are going AWOL again.. this is really frustrating.

salma

8:25 pm
6 Mar 16
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Hi girls,

This is my 3rd post today, but none are showing up.. so I am now just testing to see if this one shows. This is SOOOO frustrating.. fully agree with you Briar Rose

salma

8:37 pm
6 Mar 16
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it’s doing it again.. erasing my posts

Cinque

9:15 pm
6 Mar 16
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Morning everyone!

Yes Speckles, hello fellow Aussie, you understand the communal bins! Luckily it is only a problem here sometimes.

There are a few recipe threads on this site that you might find useful!

Hello everyone else!
I hope all the British mums had a lovely Mothering Sunday.

Coffee time!

carolinacatz

4:24 pm
7 Mar 16
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Hello!!

Wow! Everyone is busy on here. Welcome to Speckles and Caroline! I admire you both and congrats on your progress.

Catz or CC is fine to call me.

I did pretty well at my inlaws. Yesterday my 12 yo daughter had her first youth symphony concert. She’s in the beginning ensemble and they did fantastic! We went out to eat afterward and I got eggplant parmesan, but it was worth it!!! My goal now is to enact my weekday plan, haha. Basically I’m trying to kind of forget about the rules over the weekend while still not completely blowing it. Then, from Monday to Friday evening I am either having a fast day OR at least following rules of no carb snacking, no sweets, no eating between meals except for a little reward in the evening AND eating either breakfast OR lunch but not both. So today I had breakfast so I’m going to try to go to supper without snacking. I’ll let you know how it goes.

I adore Middle Eastern food but I’m a little confused as to what dishes go with what country so this will be educational and fun!

carolinacatz

4:26 pm
7 Mar 16
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PS….when I originally posted the above, it disappeared and I had to log on again. Fortunately I had copied it so it wasn’t a big deal. We should probably do that until things settle again….

Lori_PA

5:32 pm
7 Mar 16
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Good Afternoon!

I’m too late logging on to give my usual “Good Morning!” I’ve had a busy morning finishing up month end reports at work and I’m finally taking a breath! I’m over half way thru my FD…..yay! I’m going to fast for about 20 hours and then have a bit of dinner and save enough calories for a snack around 7, if I need one. We typically eat dinner around 5 or 5:30. Since I go to bed by 9, I like to have an early dinner.

I’m thinking about trying to do 5 days in a row of boot camp this week. I may die! I only did 3 days last week and I’ll have a short week next week since we leave on vacation on Thursday.

We have a beautiful, sunny day today and every day this week is supposed to be lovely. I’m going to go out at lunch time just to get some fresh air. Not sure what I’ll do, but at least I’ll be out of the office for a bit.

Ok gals….back to work. Have a great day/night!

Cinque

9:50 pm
7 Mar 16
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Good morning from the cool, still morning of a hot humid day.

Lori I think you are morphing into a superwoman! I’ll be cheering you on your 5 day boot camp! Cheers for your fast day! Cheers for your lovely weather, I hope you get out in it!

Hi Catz, well done to your daughter. What a wonderful thing to be involved in! Yum, I love eggplant parmigiana! I do manage to make a less decadent version, I bet yours was decadently delicious! But a worthy treat!

All power to you for that weekday plan! I’m having a light normal day!

I went Op shopping yesterday and bought a pretty good CD player. I had thought I would play music on my computer (like a modern woman) and gave my old player away to save space. But some how it never worked. So for the last few years I haven’t had much music in my life. I knew I missed it, but hadn’t worked out why.
So I am very very excited! As soon as I set it up I put on my old CDs and have felt wonderful music soaking into me and my soul is rising up like a new flower! Yes, I am that happy!

I’m going out with my friend for coffee and shopping this morning, and then off to check out the YamDaisy possibility at a big community hub again, this time where a youth enterprise centre is starting. They are interested in incorporating our Cafe model.

Big day. I’ll be exhausted! (But I can come home and listen to music!!!!!)

Best wishes to you all for a good day!

Briar Rose

10:13 pm
7 Mar 16
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Love it Cinque!! So happy for you 🙂
I have been without music too for a long time it seems. But different reasons .. Something for me to think about.
So I am fasting today. I don’t feel like I am though. I have a lovely carrot ginger with coconut milk .. And veggies (no potato) on the stove … And I’ve been taking bites of it here and there through the day.
Then I had a spinach salad.
Oh wanted to share an idea from Trim Healthy Mamas … If you add some water to your salad dressings … It dilutes the calories. If you don’t mind them a bit thin.
Anyways. Way to go Lori with the boot camp!!! I have been so lazy it’s ridiculous. Maybe I’m falling into a funk … Better make a date with myself to go for a walk tomorrow. Thanks for the inspiration!
Welcome new gals!
I’m off to a family thing with my sister. Hoping there won’t be food there! Ha ha
Cinque I love Opp shopping. It’s one of my favourite things. You never know what you will find! Yard sales are another thing I enjoy.. Do you have yard sales? I will ask my hubby.
Have a good day/night!!

carolinacatz

12:52 am
8 Mar 16
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Hello….enjoy the music, Cinque! I find I don’t play music in the house as much as I used to but I listen to my iPod in the car and on walks a lot. I also use Pandora a fair amount. My son is a bassist and played in all sorts of groups until college. Now he just plays with his garage band from high school when he’s home on break. My daughter just started cello but took piano throughout elementary. My husband and I met in band in high school. Our living room is a music room…I think it’s a really vital part of life. (here is a clip from the concert if you’re curious–she has only played cello since August so I think they did incredibly well — https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=93-OX9isy9c)

Briar Rose, you definitely need music….it’s helped me through some really rough, low spots in life. Try listening to a song over and over while you walk!! It’s kind of crazy but therapeutic.

Lori, I hope it’s going to be pretty here, too. We are hosting a colleague from the Netherlands this Friday and I’d love to grill out.

I did pretty well today but ate more at dinner than I should have….and I fried bacon for the first time in forever so I know I’ll be up for a few days. It’s “natural” bacon but still ….

Briar Rose

12:03 pm
8 Mar 16
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Thanks Catz! Music will come back into my life. I should say that I used to be a musician .. When my kids were little my kitchen was set up with microphones and a drum kit .. Recording equipment etc. I played the banjo and the guitar .. And I was a songwriter. I gave it up when I decided to go to school to study herbalism. Now my 16 year old son is self taught .. And there is music in our house every day! He plays beautiful fingerstyle guitar and banjo .. Accordion and ukelele … And now he is saving up for a mandolin. He plays beautifully and I get to listen to him everyday .. He is homeschooled.
I was a single mother for 12 years .. And music was my therapy in many ways. Now that I share my life and my home … It has just lost its place.
I know what you are talking about when you say play the same song over and over. That is something I used to do so much! When I go walking I may take my old iPod with me and do that again!
I would love to hear the music that comes from your home! The cello is one of my favourite instruments!
So .. Yesterday was a fast day and got through it !! It was difficult in the afternoon. By the evening I felt a little sorry for myself but kept at it. Woke this morning feeling GREAT about it and may keep on fasting today. I started using Stevia powder in my coffee and will keep on with that. I usually put maple syrup in it .. But the stevia is fine.
I haven’t decided on a recipe yet but will let you all know when I do!
Hope everyone is well!
Oh! And I should say … SPRING IS REALLY ON ITS WAY HERE! above zero temp’s all week. Birds are singing. Air is fresh. What a feeling!!

MinnesotaMiss

3:09 pm
8 Mar 16
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Hi all!

I haven’t posted for a couple of weeks. I just got back from a trip to California–half work and half vacation. Of course I didn’t fast at all and ate several things I shouldn’t have, but it was lovely. Spent some time on the coast of Big Sur and the beach at Carmel. Big Sur is totally wild, just a two lane highway that hugs the cliffs, a rocky coast, and occasional canyons filled with towering redwoods. Carmel has the most beautiful white sand beach I’ve ever seen. Too cold to do more than stick a toe in, but lovely breakers.

I only had dessert twice, but did have breakfast pastries also twice. Had the most lovely ice cream (half a pint! yikes!). Just milk, cream, sugar, and eggs. No flavoring, no stabilizers, no preservatives. It was heavenly. And the wine . . .

So now it’s back to fasting. The “skirt of truth” zips up, but not easily. So I know I did some damage (it was worth it). Had a good day yesterday with just a chicken breast and zucchini for lunch and a bowl of chicken soup and a piece of string cheese for dinner. One problem I have on fast days is acid reflux. You’d think it would be better when I eat so lightly but it seems worse, like there’s nothing but acid in my stomach. Anyone else have this problem on fast nights?

I’m in on the Lebanese food next week. I LOVE Mediterranean cooking. I hope we will all share what we cooked and how it went.

This article was in the New York Times this morning. Fasting is catching on slowly on our side of the pond. http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/03/07/intermittent-fasting-diets-are-gaining-acceptance/?emc=edit_th_20160308&nl=todaysheadlines&nlid=1858419

Lovely to read all your posts. I hope to write more often now that I’ll be home for a few weeks. Good luck to all fasters and welcome to the new folks. And, Lori, I hope your vacation is as wonderful as mine was. Cinque, hope the cafe works out. Sherry, Milena, Makica you out there?

MM

Lori_PA

3:34 pm
8 Mar 16
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Welcome back MM! You have been missed! Your trip sounds just wonderful and all the lovely food well worth the tight “skirt of truth”. I have nearly a week to wait for my week in Florida. It will probably be the longest week so far this year.

I had a successful 22 hour fast yesterday and then stayed around 500 calories for the day. Scale was down over 1/2 lb, but now sure it’ll hold after a day of eating. I’m planning an 18 hour fast for today. I’ll eat lunch today around 1 or so. Not sure what I’ll eat today, but I have to make sure to have more calories. When I fast, I have a tendency to struggle to get to even 1,000 calories which is much too low for alternate days of 5:2. Next 22 hour fast will be Thursday, I think.

We are having unseasonably warm weather this week and I’m loving it! It makes me think about heading to the golf course soon. My friends and I are not in too much of a hurry, as the course tends to be muddy early on and none of us like slogging thru mud to play. Blech!

Have good days!

carolinacatz

9:15 pm
8 Mar 16
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Quick check-in….Welcome back, MM. Your trips sounds wonderful and totally worth it! We went to Point Reyes/San Fran in August. Our son had an internship in the Bay Area. It was a wonderful trip.

Briar Rose, at the moment the main live music in the house is beginning cello but I like it….how cool that your son is so versatile. The mandolin is my current favorite instrument. I adore Chris Thile.

Lori, my husband and I ate lunch outside in the sun today and it was hot! We have a picnic table at his office and are still sorting out the perfect place for it. It’s nice to have it in the sun for warm winter days but it will quickly get too hot without a shade structure. We’ll probably get an umbrella for it…..

I’m having a fast day today but I did have a salad for lunch, which is not my usual pattern. Usually I don’t eat until late afternoon but I went ahead and got one with my husband. It was all veggies, egg and lite dressing but still probably added up to 200 cals or so. So I’ll have to be a lot better than usual this evening….

Cinque

10:31 pm
8 Mar 16
Permalink

Good luck this evening Catz, just a small bite you enjoy! Always interesting to change a pattern.
I watched the concert clip. Well done all!
Now listening to Chris Thile playing Bach. Thankyou.

It is lovely to hear all the different takes on music in the house. and Lebanese dishes being planned.

Well my day went differently than expected. Might see the hub next week, or might find they are no longer interested. We’ll see.

Very tired today. Didn’t get below 29 (84F) overnight, and heating up now. Hopefully the cool change will come this morning.

Briar Rose, it is great to hear about all the interesting things you have done. I hope you get your walk in!
We call yard sales ‘garage sales’ and they are often in the garage, but sometimes in the yard!

Hi MM, so lovely to see you are back. What a fabulous trip! Well done that the skirt of truth still does up. Sounds to me you ate very nicely! And I am in complete agreement with you about the best icecream!

Lori is this long week going to be shortened by that chain of boot camps? I hope work keeps you busy through your fasts. That vacation is nearly here, and maybe by the time you get back, the golf course will be ready!

Oops look at the time 9:30 already. I have phone calls to make! Bye!

speckles

12:36 am
9 Mar 16
Permalink

Good morning all or evening to some, It is lovely to read all your posts, I haven’t gotten through too many yet but am starting to separate personalities. That sounds funny doesn’t it.
I too have been bereft of music. I always have it on in the car but I think as my office at work is so noisy you are struggling to hear anything half the time, when I get home I love the silence and rarely think to put on music. Having said that, after reading these posts I have plugged my CD player in and am now listening to some old favourites.

I had such a shitty day at work yesterday. Just seemed that so many things were going haywire then we had a staff meeting at the end of the day which I didn’t have time for as I had deadlines to meet which of course I missed which created a whole new set of problems. I was so angry with myself I tucked into the chips and nuts. Then as we all know, I was even angrier at myself for doing that and who brought the chips and nuts anyway – we never have food at staff meetings.

Anyway, today is a new day and I have it off so will go swimming.

Cinque if you are in Melbourne, I am sending you ICE thoughts to get the temp down. In Sydney we have had 4-5 weeks of hot temp with barely a drop of rain, however we haven’t had too many 35C+ days and only a couple of 40C+ so bearable if you can get to a pool.

MM your trip sounds divine, even if it was partly work. That is a great idea of having an item of clothing that you can gauge your weight by.

Lori, I too tend to do the long fast rather than break it in the morning. You said that to be below 1000 cals a day is too low for a Non F day. Is that only if you are doing alternate days? My BMI calories said that I should lose weight on 1600 day but I know that doesn’t happen as I have tried it before.

Briar Rose are you in Melbourne as well? How lucky to have a buddy near you to catch up with.

I so love eating outside so I know what you mean CC. It seems so much fresher and relaxed so is probably a lot better for us mentally as well. I was having a talk with a naturopath about “conscious eating”. Being aware of every mouthful you put in your mouth etc. and it seems so much easier to do that when you are sitting with nature around you.

Thanks for the link Caroline64. My browser wouldn’t open it but I am in need of a new computer. I will send it to work and see if I can open it there. How is the 800 going for you???

Time to get some work done now that I have procrastinated long enough.

Susiewoosy

7:43 am
9 Mar 16
Permalink

Hi all and welcome to the newbies to this thread, it has been a while since I wrote so sorry I am not able to remember all of it and do personals.
I am still plodding along, this week I switched to a version of LCHF on the non FD days and dropped a couple of pounds! Was pleased with that so sticking with it. Trying to do my FD days on. Juice during the day then either soup or light meal in evening when DH home from work.
I am reading eat fat get thin by mark hyman, more focus on veg than previous HF regimes. I watched the Michael Moseley latest on Insight, not sure how I found it but interesting. I get that sugar is the new demon and know if I eat bread I do get a drop in blood sugar later so am trying to stay off bread etc for now.
Shame about the ‘liquid sugar ‘ aka wine I drink- sadly am still unwilling to give that up tho am prepared to make it mostly w/e only, just occasional when we are out mid week.
Susie

Cinque

8:52 am
9 Mar 16
Permalink

Thanks Speckles, your ICE thoughts worked and the cool change came through. Tomorrow will be lovely and cool too, before another hot day.
I was really knocked out today and very asthma-y as I do get on hot days, plus I overate. Glad it is fast day tomorrow!

I hope you enjoyed that music.

Hi Susie, I just had a big plate of veggies (mostly green beans and cauliflower) cooked in a sayur, SE Asian style. Yes with rice, but I seem to tolerate it fine.

I think the Insight program, and Dr Mosleys new book, is all about type 2 diabetes. It is a really difficult regime, not meant to be sustainable like 5:2 is, and not meant for everybody.
But if I had type 2 diabetes, or was pre-diabetic, I would certainly do it.

How glad I am that easy, sustainable 5:2, works so well.
WITH occasional drinks of wine, which do have their own health benefits! 🙂

salma

9:17 am
9 Mar 16
Permalink

Dear girls,

Welcome MM.. I love the “skirt of truth” expression.. I will start using it, with your permission, of course!

I am not sure if this post will disappear or not, but I will keep it short just in case.

Cinque, some of the dishes that were shown on that link were not actually Lebanese. I am happy to provide authentic links/recipes if you guys tell me what your favourite ingredients are. We are big on vegetarian as well as meat dishes!

I am going to try to fast for 3 consecutive days as I have been stress-eating this week. My favourite uncle passed away and all the family gatherings were not conducive to fasting.

Have a great day everyone.
Salma

Lori_PA

9:42 am
9 Mar 16
Permalink

Good Morning!

Salma…I am sorry for the loss of your Uncle. You’ve been having a stressful time. Don’t be too hard on yourself with 3 days of fasting. Do what feels right.

Cinque, hope your breathing is better today with the cooler weather.

Sorry to not do more personals, but it’s early and I’m only half way thru my cup of coffee. 😉 Day 3 of boot camp is on deck for today. We’re doing cardio boxing, so I get to beat on the heavy bag today. I woke with a bit of a headache and hope it goes before I head to camp.

I found out yesterday that I’m going to be able to retire in early October instead of the end! YAY! It is all due to making sure DH is covered under my insurance until he is eligible for Medicare as of November 1. Anyway, it looks as though my last day of work will be October 7. We’re going to speak with our financial adviser tomorrow afternoon, and I hope he doesn’t “burst my bubble” and tell me he doesn’t think it’s a good idea. It’s happening..the train is on the track!

Ok…time for a bit more coffee and then off I go!

Cetta

11:53 am
9 Mar 16
Permalink

Hello Salma, I started my 5:2 diet 3days ago and today is my first fast day. I weigh 73 kg and am hoping to reach 60kg by August. My motivation to loose weight just came a week ago when my little boy who is 9yrs old said to me, mummy why do you have such a wobbly tummy. I felt I needed to do something about it right then. That night I started reading about different diets available, I decided on the 5:2 diet because I could eat normally and less on just days which did appeal to me. I used to be very sporty but have not engaged in any exercise activity for the past three years and I know that is the contributing factor for me gaining weight. At the minute I do not feel confident to go to the gym because of my weight. I am hoping when the weight start dropping I will be able to engage in all the sports I used to do. I am hope hearing about people’s experiences, tips and advice I will garner the courage to achieve my ideal weight of 60kg. Like you Salma I will be drawing my strength from you and I hope to share with you lot every step of progress I make on this journey. I have managed so far with clippers lemon green tea, am hoping to have a cup of tea with an apple for late lunch and tuna and avocado salad for dinner.

carolinacatz

3:04 pm
9 Mar 16
Permalink

Welcome, Cetta! Good luck as you start off. Are you in your fifties? If so, you might prepare yourself for it to take a little longer to show results and for progress to go more slowly……I think that’s been most of our experience. I know it’s mine, but the good news is that it does work if you stick it out and you can get off the Gain Train, haha.

Salma, so sorry about your uncle. My favorite ingredients are the simple ones! I do like chickpeas–are those Lebanese? Yogurt sauce? What is your favorite easy dish?

Lori, I am jealous of your book camp energy. I really need to step it up on exercise.

Cinque, hope the nice weather stays around.

Susie, welcome back. Thanks for the tip on LCHF. During the week, I make some attempt at that on non-fast days. I do believe it helps. Actually, I know it helps as the crunchy salty things are what trip me up and trigger the EAT MORE impulse!!

Speckles, I am working on being mindful when I eat. I think that is one of the advantages of 5:2 but it’s a subtle thing and happens over time….

I did okay yesterday for fast day and today I’ve eaten breakfast–some leftover egg dish and advacado, a few bites of fruit, so not totally no carb. I’m vowing to not eat any crisp type snacks! And to get some real exercise. Good luck, all.

Cinque

12:08 am
10 Mar 16
Permalink

Dear Salma, So sorry to hear of the loss of your favourite uncle. I am so glad your could spend all that time with family, I bet there were wonderful memories to share. I hope your fasting is a lovely time of looking after yourself through your grief.

That link for Lebanese recipes was chosen in a pretty scrappy way (quick google of ‘healthy Lebanese recipes and then pick the one that looked best of the top three). Later I scrolled down and some Mexican recipes were turning up! So I had my fingers crossed you would come along to fix it all up.

I have quite a few recipes, (big Lebanese population in Melbourne, and lots of beautiful restaurants and cook books). Lebanon was very much our introduction to beautiful Middle Eastern food. I want to take the opportunity to make one that I have written down but never made. I might even make a feast.

Lori, thankyou, the asthma is gone. So nice! I hope you are feeling great after cardio boxing! Wow it must make those endorphins go!
Lovely news about retiring earlier, fingers crossed your finance guy gives the thumbs up!

Cetta, welcome here! I love 5:2 for the very reasons you give. A light fast two days a week, and healthy normal eating the other days! Do-able, sustainable!
If I have an overeating day (like I did yesterday) the fast day comes along and puts me to rights. But I have less and less overeating days because as I lose weight and my body gets used to the fast days, my appetite goes down, I snack less, my portion size has reduced and I am hungry for better food. Oh and the fun of comfy clothes in smaller sizes!
How did your first day go?

Catz, today is blissful. Humid but top temp 22 (72f) back up to 30 tomorrow. The rest of the country has it worse.
I really wish governments had listened to the climate change scientists decades ago!

I SO agree with you and Speckles about mindful eating! All my non fast day learning is to try and be mindful of what I want, how much I want, eating every mouthful mindfully, noticing how full I am, noticing how I feel when I stop eating, and so on. I must have spent a lot of my life unlearning what came naturally!

Well, the day is getting away from me! Best wishes all!

Cinque

10:12 pm
10 Mar 16
Permalink

Hello everyone,
I hope you are okay Lori, I am used to waking up to your lovely post.

Salma, I got a lovely recipe book out of the library last night by a woman whose family moved to Sydney from the mountains of Lebanon. I was looking at the kibbeh recipes. I have made a couple of vegetarian kibbeh recipes (a delicious pumpkin one, and monk’s soup) but I think I would like to make a meat one next week.
I have seen so many! Can you help me decide on a good one to start with. I do need it as easy as possible please!

It is a lovely morning-after-fast-day here. We’ve had lots of rain and the day isn’t going to be as hot as they thought. I think I will have egg on toast for breakfast. And coffee!

Best wishes all you lovelies!

Lori_PA

10:18 pm
10 Mar 16
Permalink

Ok here..just a busy day. In the car now traveling home from our financial meeting. Head is spinning, but good decisions made. More in the morning!

Cinque

12:33 am
11 Mar 16
Permalink

Waving to you Lori as you fly past! See you tomorrow!

carolinacatz

12:34 am
11 Mar 16
Permalink

Hello all! I had an unexpected challenge yesterday. We are hosting a colleague from the Netherlands and my husband called to say they were going to Thai for dinner and did I want to go…so I did! We have been eating Thai about once a week for the past six years or so. I still like it but I hate the water retention. Anyway, my weight wasn’t up as much as I thought so fingers crossed.

Today’s fast is going well. I didn’t have anything until dinner when I had broccoli and two eggs with a bit of cheese and the edge of my daughter’s crust. I did a good walk yesterday and a short one today. Tomorrow we are having the colleague over to grill out American style, haha, so that will be a big challenge!

Sherryann

4:21 am
11 Mar 16
Permalink

Hi ladies!

I’ve been back from Hawaii since Tuesday but inundated with laundry, grocery shopping, kid school field trips, etc! I’m happy & a tad sad to be home! It’s so nice to have time to just worry about what I want to do , eat, etc ( except for when I was being a tour guide for my visiting friend) and hard to get back to reality- but of course I’m happy to be home with my family whom I missed! Had beautiful weather, lots of beach time, and good meals.

The first week there, before my friend came, I ate very healthy, usually just twice per day care walked 1 hour 2x/ day so I lost a couple pounds. Of course I gained them back promptly after a week with my friend in town! That’s ok though, I was asked by my son’s teacher today on the field trip if I’d lost weight! Always a nice question to be asked! Also one mom asked what I’ve.been doing since my skin looked so good- I told her I’d gotten a bad rash in Hawaii (maybe some food I was allergic to?) and bought some supposedly healing noni fruit based cream at a farmers market so who knows? Maybe it will be my new beauty secret!

Welcome to all the new folks! I’m looking forward to getting to know you! I can’t begin to read through all the posts over the last 1.5 weeks- there’s too much! I’m happy to be back though and posting again- I’ve missed you all and our daily time together! 😘

Sherry

Lori_PA

10:15 am
11 Mar 16
Permalink

Good Morning!

Sherry!!! Good to see you! You have been missed around here. I know what you mean about it being hard to get back into routine after being away. It is fun to get away, but always great to come home.

Yesterday’s meeting went long, but we have things in place with husband’s pension. Now just to figure out how to handle mine before D-day in October. After the meeting we went out for dinner and I had chicken & shrimp, a lovely salad and green beans, and of course, a huge mug of beer! Guess what? The scale was down this morning to a new low! I swear, every time I have beer, the scale is down the next day!

Oh…have to share this. Yesterday at boot camp, they sent us outside to run a bit and when we came back inside, the trainer came up to me and said “You’re getting very lean.” She said she was watching me as we were running and she can really tell that my body is changing. How nice to have a fitness professional make that comment! She is the 2nd trainer to comment in the past month or so. Last night when getting ready for bed, I did notice that my ab muscles are popping. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen them before! LOL!

So…this has been all about me. How rude! I’m not great at remembering what you all posted about once I start typing my post. Just know that I read every word and love seeing what you all are up to.

Cinque…thanks for missing me yesterday. You’re a sweetie.

Salma…how is your week going? Do pop in and give us an update.

Hugs to you all!

Cinque

10:41 am
11 Mar 16
Permalink

Hi Super lean, ab popping, retiring Lori! How fabulous! Enjoy every minute of today!

Catz, Glad you made a good decision, for a good night out. Best wishes for your grill! Hooray for a lovely fast day in between!

Sherry it is lovely to have you back!

I’m off to bed, then up early to pick daughter and granddaughter up from the airport. Oh, and yes, little twinklebud too! It is official now, second grandchild on the way, due September.

See you when I have a minute!

speckles

12:06 pm
11 Mar 16
Permalink

Hi Ladies, I am a bit unsure of what to think. I did well the first 10 days when I was doing 4;3 days but this week I seemed to have put on about half a kilo while maintaining the 5;2. I know it is early days and I did help myself to the chips and nuts the other night when I was cranky but otherwise I have been good.
Fasted today which was pretty easy skipped breakfast then I had 2 hrs in the dentists chair then went to work. I had so much work to do that I didn’t leave till 9pm (instead of 5.30) so I had an mushroom omelette for dinner. I wont stop trying but am a bit discouraged when I was expecting a loss and got an increase.
Lori, I am so impressed with your dedication to exercise and in particular Boot Camp. I am a night owl and often don’t get to sleep till 2ish so to be up at the crack of dawn is beyond my scope of thinking.
Did you have 2 weeks in Hawaii Sherry? I am so envious. We used to go to Hawaii every year when we were kids and I haven’t been in about 30 yrs now and am longing to go back.
Are any of you needing to loose big numbers? I need to loose 30kg to be at a comfortable weight but would settle for 15kg to start with. I started at 116 so I have a long way to go. I think I will need to stay with the 4;3 for a while.
I’m sounding all over the place so time to get off the computer.
Sweet dreams or happy days which ever suits your time zone.

salma

12:42 pm
11 Mar 16
Permalink

Hello ladies,

Cetta and Speckles.. welcome.. I am sorry I did not welcome you somewhat earlier, but I have been struggling with my posts vanishing. I contacted the form people and I hope this has been set to rights. It seems my posts have been deemed ‘junk’ by the forum. Nice, eh?

Cetta, I know how it can be a reality check to be told that you have a wobbly tummy by your son. It is upsetting but can be the impetus to a good and healthy change. Good luck on your journey.. we are all here to help and support each other. I hope your fasting is going well.

Speckles, stick with it.. the weight is up and down the whole time. Lori had a big struggle for a while before the weight started edging down. I had lost a lot and gained back some and I am now trying to get it down again. This is a marathon not a sprint. Take a deep breath and keep trying. My advice is not to do 4:3 too much as it then feels like a punishment and stops feeling like a “way of life” which would make it easier to give up completely. Have faith that the weight will drop eventually. How could it not? You are consuming at least one day’s worth of calories LESS each week.

Cinque.. Thanks for the kind words, and I suggest you start with “Keftah”.. (it can be written as kuftah or similar). I will post the recipe below.. this is a very simple recipe and delicious, also incorporates a lot of parsley which is good for you 🙂

Sherry.. welcome back! A tan AND great skin? you lucky girl!

Lori.. beer is it? Hmmmmm.. It seems that you have conquered your stubborn fat. Well done Lori.. Do you think chocolate can be my beer? 🙂 I only wish. I am so so thrilled for your achievement. It is absolutely great that your trainer is noticing and that you can see muscle definition. You have been working the hardest among us with all that boot camp and carb-restriction.. you deserve that your fat cells have FINALLY understood who is boss. Good luck on retiring early as well.. if only I could..I am so jealous 🙂

This is my third FD in a row to try to counteract the effects of indulging in all kinds of food due to stress. Surprisingly, I have not found it too hard. You know me.. I am NOT one for self deprivation, but it is dawning on me that with all the struggles, I am now trying to reach the same weight I was ONE YEAR AGO!! I had managed to get down to 82 Kgs in April last year, and I now stand at about 87 Kgs!! I feel rather foolish for having let all that hard work go to waste (or waist). Still, back on the horse, I guess.. I will get there, if a little tardy. I would love to be at 74Kgs by August. Cetta.. you and I have about the same amount to lose within the same time frame. Let’s get fasting!

Today is two thirds over and I am almost at the finish line.. yaay! Tomorrow, I will have a nice breakfast and go to a massage session (I just made the appointment) . My neck muscles are so tight and painful from all the stress that has been going on in my life. I feel I have earned the perk.

Love and positive thoughts to all of you.

Salma.

p.s. I will post the recipe in a different post, Cinque

salma

1:03 pm
11 Mar 16
Permalink

As promised.. Kuftah Recipe (Baked – Minced meat with onion & parsley) – A very simple recipe

You will need:

For 1 lb of minced lamb (or beef- but this will be a drier taste – or combine if you prefer):

2 medium onions

Big bunch of parsley (about 1 cup finely chopped parsley)
2 Ripe tomatoes
2 potatoes
salt, black pepper, pinch nutmeg (if available), 1/4 tsp cinnamon (if available)

It is best to use a food processor as it is much faster, but you can chop all ingredients by hand as well.

Chop the parsley very finely
Chop onions very finely

Mix parsley, onions, meat and spices by hand.
Use a baking tin lightly greased with olive oil or butter. Spread the mix in the pan to a thickness of about 1 inch or less (2 cm) – If it is too thick, it will become dry.

Slice the potatoes (you can use more or less as you like) into thick slices of about 2 cm each and blanch them for about 10 minutes in boiling water to soften and half-cook.

Slice the tomatoes and place on top.
Place the potatoes on top as well.. we usually make a pattern of one tomato slice next to one potato slice.. but this is entirely up to you.

Place in a hot oven for about 20 minutes until done. The juices from the meat should be not completely dried up when you remove the meat fromt he oven. The meat will shrink a little, but that is normal. If you feel it has not cooked through and the juices have dried up, you can add 1/4 -1/2 boiling water until cooked through.

You can enjoy this with a tzatziki salad (yoghurt, finely chopped cucumber, a crushed clove of garlic, a tsp of dried mint, salt)-chilled.

Picture:
http://bit.ly/1P3IlND

An alternative method to make the Kuftah is called Daoud Basha (translation David Pasha):

Do not add potato or tomato slices.
Make the meat mixture. Shape into balls or finger shapes. Bake in the oven
An alternative is to shape the Kuftah into balls or Kebab shape and place them on a baking tray and bake in the oven for 15 minutes until cooked.

In the meantime, chop an onion and fry in a bit of olive oil until translucent. Add some crushed tomatoes (about one can) or tomato paste with about 1 cup of hot water and heat until the onions are cooked through.
Drop the Kuftah balls in the tomato mixture and cook for 5-10 minutes.
If you like you can sprinkle fried pine nuts on top.
Serve with rice.

Picture:
http://bit.ly/1TzOU2f

Enjoy!
Let me know if you made it and what you think of it.

carolinacatz

2:27 pm
11 Mar 16
Permalink

Hi, guys! Fast day went well and I saw the scales below 170 this morning, back at my post Christmas low. One and a half pounds to my pre-Christmas low and then I hope to get back in the groove and reach new territory. I like to go by bmi even though it’s not a very good measure. I think it makes things sound better for me than they are because I have a small frame. But anyway, my first new goal will be to get my bmi under 26, which would be around 167 pounds. Then I’ll shoot for getting out of the overweight tier! That’s always a plus. I haven’t dared to think much beyond that. Before my youngest was born I was low 140s and it would be great to get back to that but realistically I’d be happy to be firmly in the 150s.

Speckles, I had very SLOW and UP/DOWN progress for months. I would recommend not reading the younger people’s experience. I would get discouraged when people were setting goals for 4 pounds a month or so and making it easily!! Speaking of which….my husband usually goes out for lunch at work. This week he’s been taking his lunch and lost four pounds. No words….

Salma, the recipe sounds very yummy!

Sherryann, welcome back!

Lori, congrats on your compliments. I think the flabby, droopy stuff bothers me more than the scale. I see younger people who must weigh more than I do and yet it looks better on them. Not to mention the cellulite–does boot camp help with that??

Cinque, congrats on the twinklebud! Havne’t heard that one but it is cute!

MinnesotaMiss

2:59 pm
11 Mar 16
Permalink

Hello everyone! I’m getting back in the groove after the California trip. Had a good fast day on Monday and a “half-fast” (say that quickly a few times 🙂 day on Wednesday of about 650 cals. I’m going for another half-fast day today, skipping breakfast and lunch and making cod for dinner. I hope two halves make a whole so long as I get that long stretch of not eating into one of the days.

Salma, I will definitely make the kibbeh, though probably not next week. We’ll be celebrating St. Patrick’s day next week so it has to be Irish lamb stew. But the week after I’ll go for it. I love lamb so it will be a treat to have it two weeks in a row.

Speckles, I agree with CC. It’s an up and down and slow process and not at all as easy for us as it is for the younger folks or the men. That’s why I’m so happy to have found this list of those of us in our 50s and find Lori and Sherry and Jayne so inspirational at having gotten to or close to their goals. Actually, you guys are all an inspiration, and so much fun to read.

Cinque, I hope it isn’t too hot there today. Here it’s in the 60s which is unheard of for Minnesota in March. We should still be covered with snow. It makes me worried about climate change.

Wish me luck. I’ve been called in to meet with the provost this morning in regards to my chair. I have no idea what this is about and, while I have no reason to expect a problem, there’s always that niggling fear that this might not be good news.

Good luck to everyone who is fasting and a happy day or peaceful night to all.

MM

salma

5:25 pm
11 Mar 16
Permalink

Hiya..

MM welcome back..
Just a quick note: This is kuftah not Kibbeh.. Kibbeh is another kettle of lamb altogether 🙂
I would be happy to share the recipe, but it is more involved than Kuftah.

Salma

Sherryann

12:57 am
12 Mar 16
Permalink

Hi girls,

Thank you for the warm “welcome back” words! 😘 Today was a day of more unpacking plus got hubby to go to pilates with me! He liked it and promises to try to pop in regularly, but no set day since he can’t commit to something regular with his schedule. Also renewed kids’ passports today. My oldest in particular needed it updated since she & I are going to Spain & France (& possibly Italy) this summer.

Hi Spreckles! Yes, I was in Hawaii a bit over 2 weeks. We have a business & condo there so I’m blessed to be able to go there frequently. I don’t know where in Hawaii you have been but we’re in Oahu and Honolulu in particular has really changed- lots of new construction/high rises!

Lori, apparently the beer diet becomes you! How funny & wonderful! Great to hear those compliments and to see long buried abs!

Salma, I agree with you! I want the chocolate diet to work for me too! Sweets are my weakness! His great you have a nice massage scheduled! I hooked up my friend with the masseuse, a big Hawaiian nan, at my pilates studio and when she was done, he had never come in and worked for free on my boo boo spot on my back fir about 10 minutes! Definitely scheduling a real session with him when I return this summer!

Carolina, so good that you’re getting back to your pre Christmas low! Cheering you on to getting back in the 150’s soon!

Mm congrats on the fast & two semi’s! It is hard to get back in gear after trips!

I weighed this morn and am 123.8. – 0.2 down from where I was when I left for Hawaii, but up about a pound from my low while there. So about 4 lbs. to go till o hit goal. I’m happy if I get there slow & steady by this summer.

Off to dinner for my niece & nephew’s birthdays! Bye!