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

This topic contains 5,051 replies, has 218 voices, and was last updated by vendor 3 years, 7 months ago.

Viewing 50 posts - 301 through 350 (of 5,077 total)

← 1 … 6 7 8 … 102 →

Applepie

5:17 pm
22 Mar 15
Permalink

Ginette, the trouble was when I looked on the Spanish site, there were no Wii’s available from Spain, they were offering delivery from the UK, hence the high delivery charge. Anyway, I ordered it from the UK site, can’t wait!

milena, have you tried Pata Negra? it’s a red wine to die for! so smooth and rich. Mind you it’s an expensive one, over 3 Euros a bottle. Mercadona have an offer of 4 bottles for 12 Euros. We used to get the 60 cents a litre wine until you quite rightly said that life is too short for cheap wine.

Chilli con carne with jacket potato for tea tonight with half a bottle of Pata Negra.

Weigh in day tomorrow, the least said about that the better ……..

FatGraham

6:49 pm
22 Mar 15
Permalink

You’ll be giving me a bad name with the ’12 slices of meat for lunch’ thing Milena, they are actually only about four inches by one and a half inches and you can see through them; two of them just sit side by side on an ordinary slice of bread. I wouldn’t be able to save any neither because it says on the packet ‘once opened, eat within 48 hours’ and the next day is always a fast day on ADF, unless I had 12 slices for my tea one feast day and then 12 slices for my breakfast on the next.

I’ll let you all know if I’ve lost any size when I measure myself tomorrow. I’ve just had stir fry beef and veg. for my tea and my stomach is sticking out like I’ve just eaten a beach ball. I’ve bought smaller plates, I just can’t get my head around cooking smaller portions.

Jayneyw

6:51 pm
22 Mar 15
Permalink

Thanks Milena,

I’m glad to know the wines I’ve had sealed very tightly with special sealers for the past ten years or so should still be good! Perhaps once I reach my goal I will be brave enough to find out!

I’m very glad I thought to redo the numbers to make my new TDEE work yesterday. The scales were kind this morning.

milena

10:22 pm
22 Mar 15
Permalink

sorry Graham, I did realise that they were wee slices, my boy also says they are wee when I moan he has eaten the lot. But it did look amusing written down!

I had a chicken wrap for dinner, put in guacamole instead of the usual mayo, haven’t checked yet if it is any lower in calories, but it tasked nice and I suppose might count as one of my five a day!

Though I seem to be managing ten a day at the moment, at least eating healthier!

Applepie – expensive at 3 euros a bottle? Having bought wine in France for eons, I get what you mean, but a bottle of wine here has £2.05 duty per bottle, not much less that 3 euros, plus VAT, so a £2.00 bottle of plonk goes on sale her at just under £5, and the duty is more on sparkling wine, hence a £2 bottle of fizz will cost about £5.25 And the initial £2 has to cover costs, profits for the grower, wholesaler and the supermarket. Makes you wonder eh?

Life really is to short for cheap wine!!! But you can go a lot cheaper than the rest of us, lucky girl!

Janey, where are you locating you new TDEE? is it very different to the one on this site.

Didn’t fast again today, that is two missed, but not really up to itm amd they were extras which just didn’t pan out, stayed well under TDEE though, in spite of wrap and two very small pieces of cake. They do say feed a cold don’t they? Not bothering weighing myself until the end of the month, think I’m doing ok but coughing and spluttering and feeling a bit sorry for myself. Willow is eating free range chicken breast so that’s a good sign.

Think I’ll have a soup day tomorrow.

salma

10:24 pm
22 Mar 15
Permalink

Cheese, cheese and more cheese…
I ad a cheeseboard selection for dinner with a nice large glass of red wine. I feel all warm and happy.

You poor thing Milena.. it sounds like your cold is taking its time. Soup tomorrow is probably a good idea, chicken soup for the soul!

Graham.. it is nice to see you back here. I am really rooting for you. Think about sticking things in the freezer as a way of cutting portion size if you need to. I batch cook and put portions in the freezer for taking with me to the office. I also do the same with soup for fast days. It is good in two ways: cuts down wastefulness and cuts down on having seconds (as all the seconds and thirds are frozen solid).

Fodder for tomorrow’s fast.
Wishing everyone a good evening and hopeful fasting tomorrow for those who are.

Lori_PA

12:02 am
23 Mar 15
Permalink

Looking forward to my fast day tomorrow. I’m ready to get back on plan after 2 bad eating days. I’m not going to weigh myself until Tuesday morning after I have a good fast day under my belt. I’m going to start weighing a couple times a week after my fast days instead of every day.

I’ve brushed my teeth so I won’t be tempted to eat anything else tonight. Up early tomorrow for boot camp…YAY!

Bring on Monday!

Ginette K

2:25 am
23 Mar 15
Permalink

Good idea Lori.

I will weigh Tuesday after my first fast day of the week.

Food weighed out ready for tomorrow evening.

Applepie

5:45 am
23 Mar 15
Permalink

The scales were as expected this morning, 133lbs or 9st 7lbs. So I have stayed the same for the last couple of weeks, that’s it now, my skin has had long enough to catch up with my weight loss.

Of course my OH is not helping, he is eating for England trying to gain weight. He found the Fast Diet so easy and enjoyable, he just kept on going after he got to his ideal weight and went a stone under in a flash, it really did just happen so quickly and without any effort. So he is now struggling to gain that weight back ………. men!

Yes we are very lucky with the cheap good quality vino but it is sad that a lot of Brits we know like it a bit too much, there are a lot here with drink problems.

milena I would recommend hot lemon and ginger for your cold, and olbas oil.

Happy fasting!

Jayneyw

6:57 am
23 Mar 15
Permalink

Hi Milena, sorry your cold is sticking around so long. I hope you feel lots better soon, and am sure you’ll be up and at ’em before long, but it always seems to take longer than we thought!

In answer to your question, I generally use this TDEE calculator: http://www.mayoclinic.org/calorie-calculator/ITT-20084939, and yes, it is quite different to the one on this site, which from what some on other forums here have said is quite a bit higher. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve been having better results since using this one. The reason I decided to use a lower TDEE was after I thought about lowering my target weight, the associated TDEE would be lower. I decided to try that now because my weight had been pretty much the same for a few days before that. I was hoping that dropping an additional 200 calories per day would shake things up and get them moving in the right direction again–and I was right.

I have another appointment with the naturopath on Friday, and he was talking about slowing me down at 115 pounds so what happened with Applepie’s OH doesn’t happen to me. Then again, if he goes along with my lower weight goal, we might not slow down until later. However, as a result, I am adding an additional fast day tomorrow (Monday) and hope to be at 115 by the morning of my visit with him if at all possible–just so we can reach that milestone and move on. I hope this makes sense.

salma

7:28 am
23 Mar 15
Permalink

Good morning Foodaholics Anonymous.
I woke up with a bad migraine this morning. I am not sure whether I should fast today.
I have a suspicion that fasting can either make it much worse or much better, so I am going
to try to last out the day and see what happens. Wish me luck.

Jayneyw

9:03 am
23 Mar 15
Permalink

Hi Salma,

Best of luck with your fasting today. Please let us know how it goes.

kindle

9:18 am
23 Mar 15
Permalink

Hi all glad to hear of all your effort and success. As for me, I still need to loose a few last pesky kgs, 3 would do….. that would take me to around 62kgs. So here is my plan , starting today; I will do a total fast on mondays just with tea and coffee only.
Tuesdays will be 500 cals. Wed and Thur will be 1000 cals. Fri will be 1500. Sat and Sun I wont count cals but try to stick to 3 reasonable meals and very little alcohol so maybe 2000 cals per day. My TDEE is 1650, so most days I will be under that. Do you think that might work fellow fasters?? Do you do anything similar?

Jayneyw

9:35 am
23 Mar 15
Permalink

Hi Kindle,

I can’t speak for anyone else, but seem to be one of the few on this discussion who counts calories. All I can say is try it, see if it works, and please let us know.

However, my personal opinion here is that if you go completely off (2000 calories is way over your TDEE) and you do that two days in a row, you’re going to have a lot to make up for come Monday. Even if you do one total fast day, I don’t know if that will make up for two days of going so far over your TDEE, but by all means try it, and do let us know how you do.

Also, I realize that weighing daily isn’t terribly popular here, but what if you try your new plan for a week or two and weigh yourself daily only for that time (unless you normally weigh yourself daily anyway)? That way you can really see what’s going on. Just a thought.

milena

11:55 am
23 Mar 15
Permalink

Hi Kindle

I’m not the scientist here, well actually I am but its usually my own special take, ie def no calories in champagne if you are drinking it to celebrate a milestone loss.

Anyway, at 1650 your TDEE is 11500 per week and for 5:2 to work, you should be aiming for around 9200, 80%. (normal TDEE for five days, a quarter of tdee two days). Your calculation is 8000, which puts you well in the zone, with room for a little movement or miscalculation. It is a difference of 2500, which should give you a weightloss of around three quarters of a pound a week. Also, psychologically, I think 2000 calories will be a lot of food after the lower weekday amounts, so you may find you won’t need them all, but if you start with the lower calorie days, they will be banked anyway.

Of course everyone is different so you may lose more or less, but the important thing is to do what works for you. I’m a calorie counter, but I think it can be counter productive.

I’m very conscientious that they way I do it may not be the best way, but we have to start somewhere, we have to tweak it to suit us, and we should try to make it workable long-term.

I also do total fasts, but only occasionally. Life still has to be lived, and you have to have balance. I rather like that you are well under in the week with a good total at the weekend.

May, of course, be talking complete tosh, but then again your regime seems to be the closest to mine.

I tend to stay well under TDEE on non fast days, without much difficulty, I saw it as banking calories so that on a planned trip I could eat and drink more. Seemed to work ok. I’m hoping to start banking in April for a holiday at the end of June.

Let us know how you get on, but as you only have a little to lose and it seems to be hard to lose the last few kilos, not that I would know for sure, but half a pound a week means you could be there reasonably quickly. I think though you might just surprise yourself, in a good way.

Very best of luck.

Salma, hope you are improving. Someone on another thread is a long time migraine sufferer, suggests loads of water.

Applepie, you can probably advise best about how to lose the last few kilos. Good luck, hope you move soon, loose skin worries me.

Weighing everyday, as Janeyw suggests is a good idea, but there will be a lot of ups as well as downs, especially on Mondays, unless your plumbing is exceptionally good. Personally I only take notice of losses, as long as it’s trending downwards.

Have a great day and travel hopefully

Lori_PA

1:16 pm
23 Mar 15
Permalink

I woke up with a new attitude this morning! I spent the weekend beating myself up for overeating and I am done with that! I’m going to have a good fast today and tomorrow I shall eat like a normal person. I will try to avoid sweets & junk on my normal days for the most part, but not going to beat myself up anymore. That does nothing but make me feel bad which makes me want to eat to feel better…..round and round I go!

I had a good boot camp workout this morning and will be back for more punishment tomorrow! I had my normal unsweetened vanilla almond milk with vanilla egg white protein mixed in right after boot camp and now I won’t eat until dinner this evening which will be an omelet. I have our meals all planned for the week which will help me keep under control. Truth be told, the week days are not my problem. It’s the boring, cold weekends that are killing me. We’re going out of town this weekend, so there won’t be sitting around the house mindless eating.

Hope you all are having a great Monday!

salma

2:34 pm
23 Mar 15
Permalink

A girl after my own heart Lori.. I’m with ya all the way in this attitude. I ditched the guilt thing some time ago. I want to live like a normal human and NOT be dieting all the time.

milena

3:06 pm
23 Mar 15
Permalink

With you both there!!!!

Compare what we are doing now to where we were!!

Checked how many calories in guacamole and a wrap this morning, 70 per wrap and 50 calories in two TABLESPOONFULS of guacamole, so got a little chicken, warmed the wrap and added the last teaspoonful of guacamole. Then read the packet on the wrap actually 177 calories. On a fast day.

For a split second felt guilty, then realised the past me would have filled the wrapped and added mayo, salsa and sour cream. Felt so good as I ate it!!!! Still under my 400 odd for the day, and if I eat more and go over, will still be blummin’ amazing!!! I thinkthat’s the bit we forget, even when it all goes wrong, it’s only going wrong for one day.

And a teaspoon of guacamole is soo tasty. Even if I dig out that packet and find the info on calories on the internet is rubbish, still a good alternative to mayo.

Is anyone else eating bread? I have it every day, though mainly good quality wholemeal and seeded, having rye bread at the moment but not enjoying it much, might try a darker rye next. I tend to have one slice only, or a crust, and I’m doing loads of open sandwiches. Including fast days. Tend to have them with fish, loads and loads of salad veggies, and sometimes fruit too. Have managed a ten a day on a plate before now!

Anyone done both ordinary stuff and low carbs. Much difference?

Firehorse

5:38 pm
23 Mar 15
Permalink

Definitely with Salma & Lori on the guilt thing.

Weekly weigh in this morning: 2 lbs lost last week 🙂

And pretty much headache free today (SUCH a relief!) by NOT OD’ing on fluids. Kept my fluids intake to a normal level plus 500ml of electrolyte-maintaining water (500ml bottle of mineral water + 2tsp sugar + pinch of salt + tiny pinch of lo-salt). I feel SO much better than I did this time last week when I was drinking black decaff by the bucket.

Does anyone find it harder on a fast day evening after they’ve eaten? I do. My stomach makes more racket AFTER food than before?! So trying a different approach by having my normal fasting breakfast of around 220 cal then a lo-cal cuppasoup for lunch (50)and will have w/w soup for dinner (also 50) then maybe some melon for dessert (or maybe not) ….. I may use the spare calories to have white decaff this evening…. black just doesn’t cut it, lol.

milena

7:55 pm
23 Mar 15
Permalink

Well, managed it, ended up eating 400 calories, leaving a few for my sugar in my tea. I have up to ten cups a day, though manage to leave 7 or 8 of them with just a mouthful or two drunk. So Im staying with my sugar, worked out its about a teaspoon a day.

After so many half hearted attempts last week, glad to get one done. Still hovering around 82kg, so aiming for another kilo over next two weeks.

Glad to get that one over, resuming walking tomorrow, hard part will be this weekend. Boys away for the first time since I began 5:2, will have to rethink the chips, friend rice and curry sauce with a bottle of fizz, my favourite home alone meal – not gourmet but yummy – will be going to a fair and a farmer’s market on Saturday, hopefully some options.

salma

8:00 pm
23 Mar 15
Permalink

Firehorse.. well done! That is an impressive result.

I suffered all day with a migraine that I still have (My migraines usually take 2-3 days to go away). I still kept to a fast today. In fact, maybe because of the migraine, I did not feel hungry.
Firehorse, yes, I am the same, I feel much more hungry AFTER I have eaten. I try to keep all the calories for dinner, sometimes I will have a cup of milky coffee without sugar in the morning, but often, I will have nothing until dinner apart from loads of herbal teas.

Today, I went over the 500 cals slightly. I ended up having 700 cals because I had a lentil soup during a dinner meeting. I am NOT feeling guilty or bad about it, and I will try to compensate by cutting down a little tomorrow.

Milena, I have tried low carb dieting previously and lost a lot of weight, but it is very difficult to keep up and the MINUTE you start eating carbs again, you start to gain weight. I did lose weight quickly and quite a lot. I went down to 68 Kg.. but .. here I am again.. so I wouldn’t recommend doing that at all.

I also eat bread.. not a lot, mind, but I do like bread and incorporate it in my meals. I do try to not have bread in the evening and to restrict it to breakfast or lunch. How can one resist the smell of freshly baked bread, or freshly brewed coffee? There are things in life that are too pleasurable to deny ourselves, but a little and a better quality of the stuff we like is good for the soul.

I did not manage the gym today because of my state, but hopefully tomorrow will be a better day. I am really proud of myself for having stuck to the fast day (more or less) today and thank you Milena, Firehorse and Lori for also being kind souls (to ourselves before being so to others).

I hope everyone has a good evening and for those who fasted today.. there is always a yummier tomorrow!

Lori_PA

9:47 pm
23 Mar 15
Permalink

My fast day is nearly at an end. I may end up being a little bit over 500 calories, but I’m not worried about it. I did boot camp this morning and burned a bunch, so an extra 100 won’t hurt me.

Planning to go to boot camp again tomorrow and then eat when I’m hungry!! I have my dinner planned, but lunch will be whatever strikes my fancy. Probably a Greek yogurt and some nuts and maybe a piece of cheese. Since I’m going to boot camp, I’ll have my protein shake in the morning as usual.

Salma..hope your headache passes soon. I can’t imagine having a headache like that for several days!

Good job to all the fasters and enjoy tomorrow!

Jayneyw

11:16 pm
23 Mar 15
Permalink

Hi Salma,

I’m sorry to hear about your migraine. I have no experience with them personally, but hear they are absolutely abominable. Please feel lots better soon.

Also, since gluten (wheat, rye, barley, spelt, kamut, eikorn) and all grains (with the possible exception of small amounts of amaranth, quinoa, and buckwheat) are off my list, I generally don’t have bread, though make an exception every six to eight weeks for a spiritual ceremony I participate in that involves eating a small amount of bread. The good news there, is that they usually bring gluten-free bread, so it’s lower calorie than it otherwise would be, and as a result I can do some substitutions and end up below my target TDEE.

I don’t normally fast on Mondays, but especially since the scale hasn’t moved since yesterday and the next appointment with the naturopath is this Friday, I thought I’d throw in an extra fast day and am fasting today. So far, so good. I generally don’t experience any adverse symptoms (I guess I’m used to fasting and have been for some time), so adding an extra fast day seems to agree with me. I’ll ask the naturopath about that on Friday too.

Have a great week everyone!

milena

12:28 am
24 Mar 15
Permalink

Hi Salma

any better, hope so! Just to cheer you up on this long journey, I’ve just read on another thread about a lady who has been doing 5:2 for fifteen months and has lost 5 stone, still two to go. Very inspiring I think, especially for you me and some of the others here who are toiling in the foothills of the mountain, still looking for the first base camp, and looking up at a VERY big mountain.

Not an impossible dream then? A long climb but you know I’m gonna either pushing you or dragging you, except for the times your pushing me.

Jayneyw, you are giving me a glimpse of an unknown world. Must say I’m impressed I even know how to pronouce quinoa, but have to confess Ive never heard of eikhorn, kamut or amaranth. Is it just me?

You didn’t mention oats, you can’t live in Scotland and not eat oats. I understand they are gluten free, but are they on your ok list? Just wondered. I simply can’t do porridge tbe scottish way, water and a pinch of salt, I now do it half milk half water, with a moat of whole milk (used to be cream) and a sprinkling of brown sugar. Still sticks to your insides!

Vegetarian Haggis is rather nice, I know the US doesn’t allow the import of meat Haggis, made with oats of course, not a meal for the faint hearted, but enhanced by a mushroom, whisky, cream and dijon mustard sauce! And not on a fast day of course.

Hard to catch the wee beggars, they are awvy fast, running around the Scottish mooootains, the legs on one side of their bodies shorter than on the other, makes it easier to run around the slopes, and they are too quick to catch, only sure way to catch them is to make them run in reverse, of course the bagpipes are blown, they turn on they heels at the sound of it, (they think it is their brothers dying a ghastly death) then they topple over and you can catch them. Be careful, their wee sharp teeth can leave a nasty bite (aye even the vegetarian haggis – obviously no such thing as a vegan Haggis!).

That of course is how Scottish dancing began. The sight of those Scotsmen jumping high amid the heather, to stop the wee blighters nipping their toes and trying to chew off the future of Scotland beneath the kilts – a rare and beautiful sight to behold. The Scottish national dish (no, not the deep fried mars bar, haggis) is never easily got.

We might see one on our mountain Salma!!

FatGraham

12:28 am
24 Mar 15
Permalink

Just measured myself then compared them with this time last week and find that every measurement has gone up by half an inch. Burst out laughing at the thought that I have put myself through four water only fast days over the last week and got bigger. I don’t think I’ll bother measuring myself for a couple of weeks until I notice a change in the tightness of my shirts and trousers.

kindle

4:03 am
24 Mar 15
Permalink

Thanks so much for your input janey and milena, even though you seem to disagree a bit!
Actually I miscalculated my TDEE a bit. My TDEE is actually 1850 at my current weight.
To maintain 62kgs, my desired weight , my TDEE would be 1650. So does that make a bit of a difference? Good luck to all…

fastdiet1115

5:25 am
24 Mar 15
Permalink

480 cals today. Over 19 hour fast and really wasn’t hungry but thought I should go ahead and eat a little at 3:30p; then dinner at 7pm. I’m so happy to be starting off week two with a good fast day! Hope you all did well; I know you did your best, and that is all we can do!

salma

6:37 am
24 Mar 15
Permalink

Good morning to all.
FatGraham, I know how disheartening this can be, but have faith.. it is probably water retention for some reason. You are absolutely right not to weigh and measure until you feel your clothes are getting looser. Whatever strategy helps us stay on the straight and narrow and keep our eyes fixed on the target (or thereabouts).

Thanks Janey, Lori and Milena.. my migraine kept me up most of the night and I only got 3 hours sleep. I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy..hmm .. on second thoughts! No, no, I don’t have enemies, I am basically a nice person, except when I have horrible migraines. Today, it seems to be more muted and I am hoping it won’t last too long.

The idea of little haggis(es) running lopsided around the Scottish mountainside is quite a visual! Are the vegetarian ones as difficult to catch? I shouldn’t think so. I also thank you for clarifying the origins of the origins of the energetic Scottish dance..I had always wondered. Obviously, it does the job as the future of Scotland is safe and sound despite the sharp toothed little haggis(es). Are you going to include them in your sitcom?

So, yesterday.. I stuck to my fast and was rewarded this morning with an 89Kg greeting from my scales 🙂 I know this is transitory and will go up in the next couple of days, but this indicates to me that I am moving in the right direction (of climbing that mountain). Base camp does not look too bad right now. It is the place we are gearing up for the long haul. I know I am not supposed to weigh myself every day, but it helps to jolt me into staying the course when I have veered. I am, however, sticking to Milena’s Rules that say we are not to report any but reducing weights/measurements. To put it all in perspective, my weight can fluctuate by over 1 Kg in ONE day.. so surely one should be looking at an average rather than a particular reading.

A normal eating day for me today.. I hope those who are fasting have a good day, and those who are not fasting too !

Applepie

6:40 am
24 Mar 15
Permalink

It’s not just you milena, I’ve never heard of them either. I don’t even eat couscous! With you on oats, love porridge, no salt or sugar. Haggis haha, don’t like that either but my OH loves it.

We had a get together yesterday with one of our lovely neighbours. We did have a couple of glasses of white wine but the food was all low calorie. 3 different types of olives, celery, spring onions and sliced red peppers with hummus dip, wafer thin crackers with cream cheese and smoked salmon. Not a crisp or salted peanut in sight, or sandwiches and sausage rolls. How our eating habits have changed!

No, I never buy bread now, yet we used to get through 2 loaves a week. I prefer the wafer thin crackers or rice cakes now.

Fasting today, just enjoying my early morning lemon and ginger “tea” Liquids only tomorrow.

Happy fasting!

salma

7:10 am
24 Mar 15
Permalink

On the subject of oats..
Can I share a recipe that I like for breakfast?
I peel and cut an apple into chunks and microwave it with about 3 tablespoons of water and about 1 tsp of cinnamon until it is soft (The kitchen will smell amazing!). I add hot milk to 2 full Tbsp of Old Fashioned Oats then add the apples, walnuts, raisins if you like them, almonds, more cinnamon, a pinch of nutmeg and about 1tsp of blackstrap molasses (full of vitamin Bs).

This is a very filling meal with loads of vitamins, fiber, protein (nuts/milk), calcium and good things for you, tastes wonderful and makes you home smell wonderful.

On the subject of Quinoa, I experimented with it a couple of years back, as a foodie, Milena, I suggest you try it. It is so easy to cook and very versatile. You can use it instead of couscous, rice or other things of a similar texture, but it has the advantage of being high in protein and lower in carbs. I use it in a “tabbouleh” type salad with loads of tomatoes, green onions, parsley and olive oil. You just toast it in the pan for 5 minutes, add water and salt and basically cook it like rice.

I am not familiar with the other ingredients (eikhorn, kamut or amaranth). Janeyw, would you please enlighten us on how these are used/cooked?

Jayneyw

7:12 am
24 Mar 15
Permalink

Hi All,

Salma, I’m glad to hear you’re better.

Milena, I don’t think oats would be preferable at the moment, and according to my nutritionist, my body seems to prefer barley over oats, but I haven’t been having either since starting the 5:2, and I really haven’t missed them. I only used to have barley with water and stevia once a week, so it’s not a big deal that it’s gone, though I might try introducing it again when I’m further down the road.

I’m familiar with amaranth, but not with eikorn or kamut. What a great story about haggis! Each year outside the Seattle area there are Scottish Highland games (though sadly, I’ve never been). May I pass your story on to the organizers or others involved? I think they’d get a kick out of it.

I’ve completed my fast on Monday, and am looking forward to breakfast later today. Have a great week one and all!

Mammar

7:19 am
24 Mar 15
Permalink

Hi

Just got weighed lost 3 lb for my first week and feeling really good. On other diets I have only lost a 1 lb. Its my fast day today as well and I am back at work and going to zumba tonight. Hope you all have a good day. Will let you know tomorrow how my fast has gone to day.

Mammar

7:21 am
24 Mar 15
Permalink

By the way I use my fitness pal app to count my calories which give nutrition as well.
I have found this really helped me.

milena

8:29 am
24 Mar 15
Permalink

Good morning all.

Jayneyw, what do you do with barley? I’ve only had it in soup and stews.Raymond Blanc did a great carrot and barley stew last night (watched 4 cookery programmes last night, why oh why?)

Kindle, Jayneyw is in the fast lane and I’m way way behind her in the slow lane, same journey but she is the supercar and I’m the old banger – so we are bound to have different perspectives, great thing is its the same journey but we choose our way to get there. Re TDEE, I think we both use a lower TDEE than for our weight. If memory serves me, apologies if I have this wrong, but I think Jayneyw is using the TDEE of her target weight. I’m using a TDEE 2.5 stone below my starting weight. My reasoning is I hopefully will have to use a lower TDEE at some time, and its another way of banking calories.

So if you can stick with the lower TDEE, great. If you wobble up to the higher TDEE, absolutely no harm done.

Salma, will try your recipe, sounds goood. Got some new oats in pinhead, normal and jumbo, will try it with jumbo. In spite of your migraine, which must be hard to deal with, I’m detecting a lift in your spirits. Great.

Fatgraham, slight blip, and rather odd, but we will remind you of this when you surge ahead, which you will do. OH has just weighed himself, apparently plateauing at the moment, wonder why, perhaps it’s his two bacon sarnies, plus lunch and dinner, bread and jam, two pieces of cake and 4 lattes which comprised his fast day! Has just finished breakfast, now decided he MIGHT have hit target! He didn’t have a target!!!!!

Got a heap of work to do, but have set a day for beginning writing. May 1st. That will give me time to clear out my life, do all the jobs that need doing, and to spring clean. Going to gym from that date too. Realised last night that I’m a lot nearer the end than the beginning, time to make progress!!!!!

This 5:2 sure is life changing!!!!

Lori_PA

8:33 am
24 Mar 15
Permalink

Short night for me as I started to wake up about 3. I stayed in bed till 3:45, and decided to just get up. DH had a coughing fit about 3:30 and then came back to bed and started snoring. Ok, right…..I’ll be getting up then!

I have about an hour until I leave for boot camp. I’ve already had my coffee, so I thought I’d just catch up with all of you!

Milena..that was quite a story! You sure have a way with words! 🙂 I look forward to your posts every day!

Salma…hope the headache eases today. Could there be a nap in your future since you didn’t sleep well?

Mammar..congratulations on your loss! Great job!

Graham…glad to hear you laughed at the results of the measurements. Better to laugh than cry, especially when you know there is no way you are actually bigger! Keep the faith….the clothes will soon start to feel loose.

My plans for dinner have gone up in smoke as DH has to pick up our Grandson(10) after school and take him to his basketball game. I was going to make a ham loaf, baked potatoes(sweet potato for me) and a veggie. Now it’ll be late when DH gets home, so he will eat at the game or grab something when he gets home. This leaves me at loose ends. I’ll probably have swiss cheese and pretzels….great dinner, huh? The ham loaf will have to wait until tomorrow night. I’m looking forward to having a lemon Greek yogurt later today as a treat. It is SO good!

Have a great day!

milena

8:34 am
24 Mar 15
Permalink

Sorry Mammar, posted before I got to you, that’s brilliant. Enjoy the zumba.
What is Zumba?

FatGraham

9:34 am
24 Mar 15
Permalink

A few years ago I had delivered a car to Thurso in Northern Scotland and on the day of return I popped into a butchers to buy a haggis. I asked the butcher when it had been shot and he told me that it was that very morning. An American voice behind me asked why the haggis were shot, so we told him about the haggis having legs on one side longer than the other so they can run round the side of the mountain and we, being humans who have legs the same length, wouldn’t be able to catch them. The guy took it in all seriousness and said he was going to text his family at home with the story.

I’ve been looking for a recipe to cook barley for a while now and wondered if I could do it in the pressure cooker. Apparently it takes about 18 minutes, so I can do some and then add it to the soup I make in the pressure cooker too. Found this neat website with times on https://fastcooking.ca/pressure_cookers/cooking_times_pressure_cooker.php

Thanks for all the advice (and commiserations), I keep wanting to weigh myself to see if I’ve lost anything this week, but I’m not going to in case of disappointment. I’ll leave it until the 1st April as planned, hopefully I’ll have lost a couple of pounds by then.

Ginette K

11:12 am
24 Mar 15
Permalink

Hi All

I had a hectic day yesterday which was my fast day. Planned to start Wii exercise and had a phone call to pick someone up from hospital. It took 8 phonecalls to locate her and then there are three areas for day surgery which are a corridor apart. I found her eventually.

After about 20 mins looking for her I had to get her back to where she was staying and look after her until bedtime when someone else took over as she couldn’t get around on her own.

So the running up and down stairs and walking around the hospital counts as my exercise. When I went to pick her up you will be pleased to know that I took my prepared but uncooked meal with me. Therefore I still had my fast day.

On the way home my car went into limp mode. I can still drive it today but slowly and with caution I have been told.

Hopefully today will be less stressful!

I need to look in on her later but at least I can eat today

Well done all of you on your losses.

Graham

Don’t worry about that gain, it is only temporary. Logic means that if you have eaten less than you need it will show up sometime. When I used to go to slimming clubs I used to be really disheartened by this wondering why I bothered in the beginning. I weigh myself nearly everyday to see the gains and losses of a normal week. I know I am eating under what I need to, rather than make me disheartened it makes me think that it is just a matter of time until losses show up, if it goes on for a third week without a loss, I will look at everything I am eating and reevaluate.

Salma

So glad your migraine is easing.

Milena

Zumba is a kind of dancing, there are exercise classes that teach this, I am told by someone that goes really great fun, you can also get Zumba CDS I think and definitely Wii games.

Firehorse

I hope your headache is gone as well

I hope I haven’t forgotten anyone, had so many emails to catch up on due to hectic day yesterday.

Good luck to all of those fasting today

Lori_PA

12:50 pm
24 Mar 15
Permalink

Oh Ginette…Zumba is fun! You will enjoy it. Just don’t worry to much about getting all the steps perfect at first. It will come. Just go with the music and have fun!

Sounds like you got lots of exercise yesterday and kept to your fast day too! Good for you.

Enjoy your eating day today!

kindle

2:24 pm
24 Mar 15
Permalink

Milena, yes you are absolutely right. My total cals for the week are 8000 divided by 7 = 1142 average. TDEE is between 1640 and 1690 depending on if I put in my actual or ideal weight. Either way I am about 500 below every day on average.
500 x 7 = 3500 = 1 lb fat loss per week. So thanks to both Milena and Janew for helping me figure it out. Well that is the math anyway, if it works out!!

Firehorse

4:02 pm
24 Mar 15
Permalink

Just had a bit of a boost…..
For those of you who aren’t bikers, bike gear is subject to a strange and mysterious phenomenon known as “winter shrinkage syndrome”. Strangely, when taking your bike gear out of the cupboard in the spring it seems to be at least ½ a size smaller than it was when you put it away in the autumn. This is an annual source of bemusement to most bikers, particularly the middle-aged variety.

This year it seems to have hit in reverse. The bike jeans were getting a little loose last summer but when I took them out of the cupboard last week I came to the conclusion I really HAD to buy new ones (something I’d been putting off as they retail anywhere between £80 and £150 a pair depending on the brand). Took a chance and bought some TWO sizes smaller, never expecting to be able to do them up yet…. and they fit :-). OK, breathing and bending are optional extras and I wouldn’t want to be putting anything in the pockets that I need to get out in a hurry but…. rather chuffed nonetheless.

Ginette, head is much much clearer than it was this time last week. Thanks

Salma, hope the migraine has cleared now. Do you take specific anti-migraine meds? I used to have a packet of Zomig in my handbag just in case…..

To the haggis lovers… my father in law John used to be a woodwork teacher and one day was asked to take the Home Economics class as the HE teacher was unwell. He spent the entire lesson telling them about the intricacies of haggis hunting despite their scepticism …..which vanished when another teacher came into the classroom and John asked him “Fred, when does the haggis hunting season start?”, “12th December” came the instant response…. The Home Ec teacher was not impressed the following week… 😀

Firehorse

4:38 pm
24 Mar 15
Permalink

Ginette, meant to ask: hope your friend is ok & what’s the issue with the car?

milena

6:12 pm
24 Mar 15
Permalink

Firehorse, no wonder the home ec teacher was mad, he got the date wrong.

I thought everyone knew it was the 3rd of January, used to be the first, but as drunken Scots at Hognamy are little use to anyone, was moved to 25th January the year after Burns death, but that was a complete disaster, can take days to track down the little blighters, none were caught and none were eaten, so everyone sat around drinking whisky, and drunken Scots on Burns Night are less use than they are at Hogmanay. So, 3rd January – though the tradition of getting drunk on whisky caught on very well and continues.

Home ec teacher was probably Scottish.

Firehorse

6:14 pm
24 Mar 15
Permalink

rofl

salma

9:47 pm
24 Mar 15
Permalink

Hello everyone,

Thankfully, my migraine is receding if not completely gone. Nothing I take seems to get rid of it.. it dulls it a bit but it doesn’t go away. I take Advil Liquigel and the doctor prescribed something herbal called Prevemig as a prophylactic, but I keep forgetting to take it and, to be honest, I don’t much like popping pills, so I end up having migraines that come out of the blue.

A non-fast day today, but I did not go overboard. I had a salad of spinach and salad greens with a bit of chicken, a light(ish) lunch and a one sunny-side-up egg on toast. Not too bad methinks.

Ginette.. how is your friend, your car and your energy today? I hope you have had a better day than yesterday.

Oh .. and I meant to ask.. do the haggis creatures have anything to do with Zumba? It seems like just the kind of thing they might get up to, although it might get a bit tricky with one leg shorter than the other.

I go to the nutritionist tomorrow to get weight, prodded and measured. She has this machine that tells you what percentage fat, muscle and water you are, which can be quite an eye-opener and a soul destroyer at the same time. We’ll see what a month and a half of the 5:2 has done to my composition. Like Milena, this forum is the only place I will confess to my true weight, measurements and fat ratio. These are closely guarded secrets that even my nearest and dearest do not have access to!

Have a good evening everyone.

Ginette K

1:25 am
25 Mar 15
Permalink

Hi Lori

I haven’t got Zumba yet. I am keeping that for when I have worked myself through the Wii games I have at the moment as I have quite a few, a couple of new ones and some old friends. It takes me about three weeks to get into routine. This week I have been all over the place. So many strange things have happened it must be the moon.

She is in a lot of pain. They were going to do keyhole but then did a bigger op. She is using the crutches better today. She can only sleep in a chair at the moment. She can’t drive for three weeks so it sounds as if it will get better in a relatively short time.

Luckily my other friends father (the one who fell down the stairs Sunday) is fine only a few cuts and bruises. He was really lucky as he is in his early 90s. He is in continuing care at the moment as she is early 70s and needs a break.

……all of this since Sunday evening.

Oh the car is ok at the moment as I am not driving it on the motorway. Limp mode happens between 50 and 60 miles an hour. The engine slows and you can’t accelerate even if you put your foot to the floor. It does it to protect the engine. I am seeing if I can get someone to check it out tomorrow. I have needed the car up to now with all the running around.

I hope tomorrow is a relatively quiet day and a nice fast day. I am doing a 1000 calorie day on Friday to make up for my indiscretions. I like fast days, that seems really strange to me. Does anyone else feel the same.

I tasted haggis a long time ago, once was enough, it was not for me.

I like the stories about them though. I purposely avoided finding out about them until after I tried one. Had I known I wouldn’t have tried it. I am usually open minded about food and I never say I don’t like it if I haven’t tried it. My son says to stop trying new foods, I told him that if I listened to him he would still be on baby food.

There is a really inspiring loser on one of the other threads. She had lost 100lbs in 16 months. That’s 7 stone not sure how much in kilos. Maybe one Kylie Minogue!

Night all. Need to go and get my food weighed out ready.

salma

5:45 am
25 Mar 15
Permalink

Good morning one and all.
Ginette, 100 Lbs is around 45 Kgs. No mean feat!
Today is not a fast day for me which is just as well because I have a book club meeting this evening and I am hosting. I like these monthly get togethers, but it does mean loads of cheese, crackers, wine and desert. Life can be hard!

Jayneyw

7:48 am
25 Mar 15
Permalink

Hey All,

Today was really busy, so sorry I didn’t keep up so well. Milena, I have barley the way you might have oats for breakfast. It tastes great with stevia and butter. However, I won’t be having any more for a while at least.

I had a very disappointing result from Monday’s fast day. I only went down .3 pounds. I’m fasting again today, so hopefully will be two pounds shy of my milestone for the naturopath on Friday. I hope I can make that happen at least.

Lori_PA

9:40 am
25 Mar 15
Permalink

Good morning all!

Enjoying a leisurely morning since I have a rest day from boot camp. Catching up online and sipping coffee. Love to ease in to my day.

My husband has come down with some kind of ailment. Yesterday afternoon he started with headache, chills & cough. He’s still in bed so I don’t know how he’s feeling this morning. I think he slept fairly well. I gave him some medicine that seemed to keep him from coughing all night. I suppose I’ll be the next one to catch the bug. 🙁

Today is another normal eating day. I went a bit overboard with sweets yesterday, so I have to keep the sugar low today.

Hope you all have a good day!

Mammar

9:42 am
25 Mar 15
Permalink

Hi All

Ginette – Hope everyone gets better soon. I like fast days too. Zumba was good got steps all wrong and laughed all the way through with my friend but must have done some good as a little stiff. I have it on Wii and still get the steps wrong.

Salma I am going to try your recipe. What is blackstrap molasses and where can I get it. Im in the UK.

And finally congratulations to all on your weight loss.

salma

11:12 am
25 Mar 15
Permalink

I know what you mean Lori. Iam taking a day off from work today save a couple of meetings.. sooooo nice!
I am just back from the dietician who weighed, prodded and measured.. Results?
In one and a half months (my last weigh in at her clinic was 12 Feb when I started the 5:2) was 92.4, today was 89 (so a total of 3.4 Kgs lost). My BMI went down from 32 to 30.8 (I need to be between 18.5 and 25, so some way to go yet).

I am happy with the results. I scheduled my next appointment for May 9th, so there is another 6 weeks to go and promised her that I will attempt not to gain any weight during my vacation (as I usually do) and to even try to lose some weight. To be honest, I am so happy with the results that I will try my hardest to fulfil that promise. FINALLY!!! The weight is beginning to shift, and the regime is not too difficult or disheartening. I am walking on air this morning.. and the migraine is finally gone too.

Janyeyw.. I feel your pain, but I think you are a little too hard on yourself. A loss of 0.3 lbs is still a loss and if you think about it in terms of a week, that is 2.1 lbs in a week, which is quite a lot. I would kill to have those results (well, not literally). A loss is a loss is a loss and you should celebrate every bit. Well done!

Mammar, molases of any type (there is date molasses, grape molasses and any number of others) can be used. I prefer it because it is very rich in vitamin Bs, but substitute honey or stevia or anything else you like (raisins or jam can work) or go without if you don’t want the sweetness. As I don’t live in the UK, I don’t know where you can get it, but I imagine most stores like Sainsbury would have some type of molasses; Any Middle Eastern/Indian grocery or health food stores for sure. I will be stopping over in London for a couple of days on my way to North America and will keep an eye out for where you can get it.

I love cooking and sharing recipes, and am a bit of an aficionado on Middle Eastern cooking, so if you want me to suggest recipes from that region of the world, let me know. These tend to be very healthy (Mediterranean Diet) and full of fresh vegetables and other things that are good for you. Just tell me what type of ingredient (vegetable for example) you like and I can give you a recipe for it if I have one.

Have a wonderful day everyone. I am invited to a seafood restaurant for lunch and hope that I do not over-indulge.