Sis and I are ready to head for the Pier! Bermuda here we come!

Hugs to you all!

Hello again, stopped by for a bit more of a chat than just cheering Lori!

What an interesting experience your detoxing will be Salma, with its different quantities and the make up of it. I hope you can be firm with that wicked Friday group! Growl at them if they hassle you too much!

Apricot! What a lovely way to choose your name. So much more petite than and apple or pear too!
I am like you, I need to get ready for fasting the day before!

My fast day was a good one, and now I am planning a good post fast day! Had a good breakfast and delicious leftovers for lunch and my evening meal. Sensible portions and nothing in between!

Best wishes everyone on your pre, post, or fast day, or that amazing lull day which is none of the above!

Dan Nugent, I also don’t like the D word. I think of it as a way of eating…and a way of living. I have lost most of my weight but I plan to stay with fasting as a way of life.

Keep posting!

Hi all,

Not much to say from me other than great job Salma and Dan! Hi to Cinque, Carolina, Briar rose and anyone else reading!

Been tiring week here with adjusting my eldest to the diabetes routine…she forgot her diabetic supplies this morning and remembered them halfway to school so we had to turn around…silver lining is at least we weren’t all the way to school! 😉

I’m hoping to catch up on some much needed sleep this weekend as I’m just exhausted. Eldest wants to drag me out shopping for some shoes, etc. she needs before summer vacation which is coming up SOON!

My weight is shifting slightly downward…hanging out around 120 a bit more but still wanting to creep up. I’d love to get a couple pounds under 120 before we hit Europe in 5 weeks.

Have a good day/night depending on where you are!

Hello, sorry to be awol.

Welcome to the new folks!!!! It’s late so I won’t be more specific right now but hope to get back to you.

I had a good week–just my daughter and I at home so I did three fast days. Yippee. I think I dipped below my pre-holiday weight for the first time this year. Next short term goal is to get my bmi below 26. I weighed in at the doctor this morning and they use one of those body index scales and I was 33 percent fat…could be worse, could be better.

My daughter was supposed to get a heart monitor for the weekend. It is in the same location as the labs for a blood test so I got her out of school early to do both. Then while we were checking in at the lab, the cardiologist called and said the monitor wasn’t in so we had to reschedule out another week!! I’m so frustrated. It’s not the inconvenience–it’s the fact that we need to know why she is getting out of breath with things that used to not faze her. Blerg!! She also freaked for the blood test–I think we are part red heads, Sherry!! Actually, I do require a lot more novacaine, which is a redhead dna thing and we do have Celtic dna. That will be her excuse anyway!

Hi Cinque,

Yes, I need a sound-proof room that is padded so I can bounce off the walls in peace! Scary for you and your daughter not to know what was wrong but at least she knows now and can get on some supplements to start feeling better.

Today is dreary and cool here…they call it “May Grey” in these parts. It migrates into “June Gloom” next month! It’s an overcast cloudy condition that usually burns off by late morning but today, no such luck. In fact they’ve even forecast a touch of drizzle tomorrow.

Carolina, so sorry for the continued frustration with dealing with the medical establishment! Praying for you that they get her that heart monitor sooner rather than later!

Ok, so I got that under eye filler two days ago. I’m still very puffy with some bruising. The doctor seemed a tad concerned so he had me come in for some under eye laser treatment that was supposed to break it all up and make me look a lot better. As of this morning, not so much!!! I’m starting to freak out a bit and wonder what the heck I did to myself in the name of vanity! Internet says swelling can last 3 days with this procedure, but one would expect a gradual reduction in the swelling daily and that is not really happening. If not better by Monday, I’ll be on the phone to the doc. I’m sure I’m one of those lucky small percentile who have a not-so-favorable reaction. Yay! 🙁

Sorry to be such a Debbie Downer but it is just “one of those days”.

Hi all
Back from Florence, had a lovely time. Nearly didn’t get there at all, my friend mislaid her passport which eventually was found in an airport three hours drive from her house and one hour drive to train for three hour train trip to me- at one point we thought we would have to move the whole trip so she could get a new passport but in the end she arrived about 930pm and we got a fairly early night for a 530 rise to get to airport!
Weather was surprisingly poor, as it has been in Spain recently, even had thunder on the last day, but it didn’t stop us getting out and about with stops at cafes etc to shelter.
Did some culture, one gallery and three churches, walked a lot, over Ponte Vecchio, the gold bridge, due to all the jewellery shops on it, took a bus out of town to a shopping mall and ate well. I was told I had to try the fiorentine steak so I did, like a thick t bone cut, huge and served medium rare, they don’t ask you how you like it, they just bring it how they think. Also had pasta, pizza and Chianti wine and one gelato cone.
Salma, glad the detox still going well, good idea to kick start things, great loss you have had. Very envious of your trip to Boston.
Sherry, not long till you go now! Great that you will be able to get the stuff daughter needs pre trip and of course as you have so much experience, it won’t be a worry for you. Smiled at the red head thing, Mother used to offer to test my blood sugar on her meter and I was bad enough with the little finger stab! Guess you do what you have to but maybe that is why I am wussy about things, does it count that some of my ‘red’ is now high lights??
Cinque, hope daughter feels better soon, guess we never stop worrying about them.
Plan FD today, no bf, homemade chunky veg soup for dinner, not sure what in between- find I am often ‘munchy’ around mid afternoon so need to work that out.
CC, how is your son doing, I didn’t notice him mentioned in your last post? Isn’t he home now?
Susie

Hello it is Thursday morning here (fast day!). How the week has flown.

Lovely to hear about Florence Susie, what a lot of adventures! Such a pity to start with a huge passport based stress out, but I hope the two of you could laugh about all the shenanigans.

Mid afternoon is also my ‘munchy’ time on fast days. I will be out and about this afternoon, but usually I just keep reminding myself I can eat tomorrow, and counting down the hours until I have my chicken miso soup in the evening. I watch the hunger pangs come and go, like waves on the shore!

Sherry, what a relief about your eyes! And it sounds like the treatment is working as you hoped.

It is interesting which threads work for people and which ones don’t. It is nice when there is enough people to have a lot of ideas and information coming through, but too many and I feel like I am trying to be in a skipping game where the rope is turning too fast, and too few people and it is a bit hard work. The rope turning too slow!

I participate in 4 threads, but one seems to have run down to nothing 🙁 . One of them is for people in my part of the world, and that is such a nice thing to have, so I hope the ‘Americans’ thread develops into a good one.

My daughter is half way through her pregnancy and I think she is getting more energy, she hasn’t been so woozy. I took Josie on Wednesday night so that she could get a better sleep, but that involved Josie being wide awake between 3:45 and 5am, and I am still recovering!

Instead of having a nap yesterday, I went op shopping (got a lovely pair of linen trousers). Then I was awake between 4am and 5:30 this morning, which also woke the cat so she was miaowing to go outside, I was too tired to do anything but feel irritated! What a lovely start to fast day!

I’ll have a nap this morning, take my daughter shopping this afternoon, and at least get a good fast day under my belt!

Best wishes everyone!

Hi, guys! Sorry to be rather inactive lately. I am feeling a bit overwhelmed….actually a LOT overwhelmed with my husband gone, my son home for his visit, my daughter’s mysterious breathing/health concern and all the end of year stuff….BUT, my son does seem to be doing better. He met with a counselor yesterday and will again next week. This guy does skype sessions, too, so I’m hoping he will be a resource once school is back in session.

Good news is that I finally saw BELOW 168 on the scale. Yay–I am finally making progress again. Bad news is that it’s partly due to being very worried about my daughter…..

Salma, good luck on your trip! I can’t believe you’re doing another transatlantic this soon. I’m not such a trooper when it comes to travel.

Sherry, is your trip to Europe with a group?

Cinque, good luck with your FD!

Susie, so glad you had a nice trip. My husband is in Croatia and the pictures are amazing.

Well, I’m going to try to call the cardiology office to make sure all is in order for tomorrow!!

CBL, Elizabeth

Thanks, Sherry….CBL is short for Check Back Later, haha.

There is some sort of Educational Travel organization just down the road from us. I’ve always wondered about it. My husband is on a trip with the Sierra Club in Croatia and it’s good but those trips tend to have the same kind of people. He usually likes to wing it on his own and has no problem stopping in the middle of a crowded sidewalk pulling out google maps, announcing to the world that we’re lost and doing a host of other things that aren’t entirely advisable. He’s been really lucky so far.

Knock on wood, we’ll get some sort of monitor today and start to get some answers. Fingers crossed!

Meanwhile I didn’t do as well yesterday in terms of eating. I reverted to the nervous eating pattern. And I’m thinking we’ll try to go out to eat either tonight or tomorrow and we’re going to my inlaws Sunday……lots to navigate!

Elizabeth

Hola Ladies (practicing my Espanol for Espana!).

Today was beauty day. My every so often 4 hours at the hairdresser…she calls it “the works”, which means instead of just some touch ups or a cut, I get the base color to cover the greys, highlights and a trim. It takes a long time with my thick hair!

I was extremely happy to see that my weight hit an all time low- at least in my last 4 or so years of recorded weight history! Am I weird for marking down my weight/date every time I weigh in? Maybe so, but it keeps me on track with what is and isn’t working and to be patient when I see a crazy unwarranted gain and notice the same thing happened in the past and it was gone the next day. Yes, Cinque, you have saved yourself from this craziness by not weighing in daily! I, unfortunately don’t have the strength to do that! So the wonderful new number is 118.4-118.6, so let’s just say 118.5 (Btw, started out at 121.6). That was after 3 days on the detox cleanse. I’m on the last day today, day 4, so hoping that a little more falls off tomorrow! ;). In the past I was doing a full week, but have found I get similar results just doing it for 4, as the weight loss evens out towards the last few days. Would be super awesome to get to 115 before Europe so I have some room to play and eat my beloved gelato daily while in Italy!

So Cinque, my late walk was FREEZING! Unusual for late May here, but as I mentioned, we do get what’s called “May Grey” in these parts. It was a tad creepy walking by myself in the dark, moonless night (or if there was a moon, I didn’t see it with the heavy cloud cover), but I felt compelled to get my exercise in so as to see the best number possible on the scale. I really think it helps to walk after dinner to digest and keep those dinner calories from settling in! So sorry the shopping wore you out, but glad you had a great time with your sisters. I feel badly that it seems you have to pay the piper every time you exert yourself more than usual…is that in fact the case?

Elizabeth, the EF Tours, according to my brochure, is out of Cambridge, Mass. I was under the impression somehow that your husband was traveling for business….does he do these Sierra Club trips often? And, like Cinque said, do you also get “your time” to get away and do what you enjoy too? I understand crazy, nervous eating. It’s what I usually revert to when stressed. Try if you can to find a replacement because as we know, the resulting increase in weight just makes you more crazy and depressed and you don’t need that right now with all that is going on with your kids! I know- I’ve been there with mine.

Salma, hope you’re having a wonderful time!

Hey Susie, any hints on limiting my eating damage while in Italy? 😉

Good night all!

Hello,

Just popping in after Cinque’s kind invite on my first post on the forum.

I am nearly 59 years old, weigh appx 13st6 (not weighed recently, hoping for a nice surprise in a few days), new to 5:2 and rather terrified that I will die of hunger by eating only 500 calories in a day. But all I read on this forum, as well as a good friend’s 3 stone weight loss, really inspire me to try.

I wanted today to be my first fast day, but then remembered that I am invited to a wedding celebration party, not the wedding itself just the party. It is a local thing in our church hall and I know that the kind parishioners will have catered well. I am still going to give it a go, hoping to be able to resist the attraction of food and booze. If they have salads (undressed) and stuff like salmon, I will have some food. Booze is not a problem as the party is in the afternoon and I don’t like drinking in the daytime, and don’t drink much anyway.

I am divided between wanting to test myself (after all, there are temptations around every day, might as well get used to it) and forgetting about starting today, to avoid failure.

Update tonight!

Hooray, you got here Cate!
What an interesting first fast day you are having!
I hope they have some fast friendly food at the wedding feast, it will be interesting to hear how you go.
Ofcourse, you can start a good conversation telling everyone about your new plan!

I was very nervous my first day too, but at the end of it I was amazed and felt wonderful. I knew right then that 5:2 suited me.

Salma, what a lovely son you have! Enjoy those berries! So sad you missed your local mulberry season! You’ll have to time the detox fortnight better next time!

Sherry I hope you get a walk in the sun today! Congratulations on your slim self. Won’t you have fun in Europe! Hola Espana!

I’ve had a really good eating day. By that I mean I made delicious, healthy meals, enjoyed every bite of them, and didn’t snack. Fast day tomorrow!

It is dark and cold now. I’m very glad NOT to be going for an evening walk!
Best wishes all!

Hi everyone!

Salma, so impressed and excited for you that you’ve been able to maintain the weight loss thus far! Truly exceptional, especially since you’re out of your element and traveling! I’m very proud of you! Keep it up because I know those lost pounds were hard won! I’m happy you get to reunite with the whole family while there! What a nice time! So my eyes are continuing to be slightly better daily but still puffy. Probably at this point mostly noticeable to me. Taking it day by day! And my hair- love it! Had her go with cooler tones, more brown and lighter, almost platinum highlights instead of the brassy gold and blonde she did prior. So they don’t import berries where you live? Can you buy them frozen at least for smoothies, etc.?

Welcome Caterina! I don’t recall seeing you post here before, but glad you decided to join us! I agree with Salma, perhaps today may not be the best day to officially start, but be mindful of your eating maybe. By the time I’ve typed this, you being so far away probably already attended the party!

Cinque, have a lovely fast day after your yummy day of good food! I will be walking now in the sunshine but it is still COLD out. I have a graduation party for my nephew later today so that will be fun!

Welcome home Lori! So glad you had a great time despite the poor weather. I’m sure whatever weight you gained will fall off in short order like the last time you travelled! Did you end up posting any vacation pics on FB yet?

So I have awesome news! Yet another low on the scale for me this morning! 117.6!!! Now that’s a number I probably haven’t seen for about 20 years! Can you believe it? I find the my routine of doing 4 day cleanse fasts once or twice a month is really working for me, thank God! Hoping I can squeeze at least a day or two of the cleanse in while in Hawaii (not too difficult since we have the place there and I can control what I feed myself to a degree). The only difficult part is that we’re having two sets of friends come in back to back (not staying with us but staying nearby in hotels) over that two weeks and we will be entertaining them. showing them around, and I’m sure eating out!
I’ll have to try to work in lots of hikes to waterfalls, etc.! 🙂

Ok, off to do that walk! Adios!

Hello, all –

54 here (as of only a month – still feel 53 😉 and hoping that the 5:2 is something I can do always and not think of as the d-word, since I’m fabulous at researching those and not so much at following through. Weight has been up and down since my late 30s…and ready not so much to be skinny, but less well, wobbly in the bum in particular — and HEALTHY. Strong. More energetic. I am a tall, strong woman, but I am carrying more in my hips, bum, and tummy than needed, that’s for sure.

Would love to join in on this lovely group and get inspired/inspire others. Curious who among you manages to keep eating a bit of bread/rice/pasta when not doing the fast days? I can’t imagine cutting it out completely…thoughts?

Thank you!

I would place bread, pasta etc into the sometimes only category. Its a treat not a staple to be had all the time. 40 years of misinformation about the food pyramid!! Governments and health officials have a lot to answer for.

Im of Italian heritage and I recently asked my mum what she ate when she was a little girl. I was thinking the answer would be pasta, pizza, rice etc. To my surprise she said that these were sometimes foods, maybe once per week or even less. Pasta and pizza were considered treats much like chocolates or cakes!! Her everyday foods were vegetables (and seasonal fruit) with fish maybe twice per week and meat maybe once per week. Funny how our perception of what is now healthy has changed. And looking at the obesity levels Id say we’ve got it wrong.

Good Morning!

Where is everyone??

I came crashing back to reality when I got home yesterday. The unpacking and laundry!! OY!! The husband had a basket full of laundry waiting for me and then I had all my cruise wear. I got it all done and put away by late yesterday afternoon.

Faced the scale this morning…only up 3 lbs. That is pretty amazing when you consider what and how much I ate for 10 days!! Totally worth it! I’m hoping to have that 3 lbs gone by the end of the month.

Gotta fly…..off to my first boot camp in 2 weeks. I may die. 😉

The office will be crazy this week trying to catch up, but I’ll pop in when I can.

Hugs to all!

Hello all,

Well unsurprisingly last Saturday was NOT a fast day hehehe, but a great day of celebration.

However, I have just done my first proper fast day, and survived! I have put the details of food under The Me Project in the weight loss section of the forum. Kept it simple and varied and it worked.

Bigbooty and Sherryann, I am Italian too, and totally agree that although pasta is eaten at Italian meals it is not every day and it is a starter, not a main meal, so never a huge bowl. Pizza is only for outings, not many people make pizza at home!

I have decided that I am not going to obsess about vegetable calories, I mean stuff like celery, cucumber etc, green leaves, but will be more careful in counting protein and carb foods, as well as star hire veg like carrots, beetroots and the like. I cannot be obsessed if I go over half a dozen calories because of a celery stick!

Next day Friday, see how it goes, as I have a morning bootcamp, might be able to do it with only a bit of soya yogurt in my tummy, I hope, or a small boiled egg (50 cals).

Good night.

Hi everyone,

Salma you are in a tricky situation. I do understand how nasty and hard it will be to work off those extra kilos with 5:2, and detox and all the rest of the restrictions. But if you can’t avoid them, there is no point hating yourself over them.
I’ve got my fingers crossed you can just say ‘No’ ‘No’ ‘No’ ‘No’ and hold a big glass of water with both hands, and talk to people instead of taking in calories!

lol Big booty, I couldn’t believe it when I wrote out that list either! 5:2 is working really well for me! I don’t have any of those foods on fast days (at the moment) and on other days I probably average two serves a day, so at 1/2 a cup a serve, that means a cupful a day, 5 days a week.
Mind you I don’t have any sugar (incl biscuits, cakes, desserts, and fruit, apart from an occasional small serve of berries, and of course no honey or anything like that). I think I come from a lineage of people for whom grains were the staple, so maybe my genes are set up for them!

Best wishes everyone!

Hello all,

Cinque thanks for congratulations. Yes I am another boitcamper, but I take it easy, not being able to do high impact exercise because of achy joints. But it is good to workout outdoors, it makes me feel really alive.

I am also another sugar and starchy carb avoider, not that it stopped me from eating a fantastic pizza the other day at an Italian-run event (wood fired oven, taste of home, Italian pizza made by Italians for Italians, none of this thick dough, cheese-laden horrors that they sell in the UK). But it was really a one-off for me, as grains tend to make me feel bloated and more hungry, so I eat more of them and enter a vicious circle.

I can eat the usual healthy ones, without wishing to sound like Gwynneth Paltrow 🙂 but millet, quinoa and buckwheat don’t bother me so much. Still, I prefer to take my carbs in vegetable form.

I am feeling so much better this morning after a day’s fast, I was imagining I would wake up ravenous, instead I feel nice and clean inside, and all I am craving now is a nice cup of tea, which I am going to make in a minute.

Have a good day.

Hi, all, and thanks for the support. Sorry to be awol again–I’m still very distracted being single parent, having my son home for his break before California, coordinating some remodeling projects and mainly still trying to figure out what is going on with my daughter…..We will see her primary on Friday and go over the tests she’s had so far. I’m now leaning toward a really bad flare-up of reflux although I’m still worried she has some heart issue.

Anyway, I just skimmed the recent posts. Welcome to the new people!!!! FWIW, I eat low carb on fast days–weekends are “free” and weekdays I just limit carb snacking, if that makes sense. Of course my weight loss is painfully slow but it is in the right direction and it is sustainable, which is what I care about!

Lori, glad you had a good cruise and kept it under control. Salma, I agree that your son sounds awesome and I hope you enjoy his celebration!! Cinque, glad you are ticking things off your list–that is such a good feeling. Sherry, my husband was on a one-week business trip to Northern Europe and then joined a Sierra Club trip to Croatia for two weeks. This is his first experience with that. He wants to travel more than I do–I’m only up for an overseas trip every other year or so. We’re seeing how this goes. Unfortunately, the timing wasn’t great, however. Congrats on the very impressive scale number–that means you may truly enjoy your upcoming trip!!!!!

Better run–it’s my day to go to the office. Hopefully I will get some things ticked off my list, too!

G’night! Enjoy the start of your day! It really amuses me that we’re all in different time zones.