Mid-thirties, working mom of 2, looking to loose 5kg

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Mid-thirties, working mom of 2, looking to loose 5kg

This topic contains 360 replies, has 22 voices, and was last updated by  frauB 3 years, 4 months ago.

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  • Danke, ebenfalls!! Let me know how you’re getting on tomorrow. I’m looking forward to another fast day after eating a lot of Indian takeaway for dinner (although I actually probably ate less than before fasting but felt fuller quicker…) I found ta that my TDEE is only about 1645 cals so I need to be careful on non-fast days. I had 2000 in my head but I’m too small and not active enough for that it seems!! πŸ™‚

    Hi Beck, how are you doing on your fast day today? For some reason I’m nervous about this fast day, and I haven’t been before… I keep thinking about food. I have a lot of work to do and I have to pop out and run an errand before 12 noon. I think I’m going to do that around 11 to distract me. I think I’m worried because I realised I’m only supposed to have 411 calories and I’ve been having bang on 500 so that quark and raspberry evening treat will have to go today! I just hope I can get my work done so I can have an early night. Anyway, let’s see. I just want to have this week as a proper 5:2 week because next week we’re in Italy with kids and in-laws and I just know doing a proper fast day will be nigh on impossible! I’m going to try and eat salads and skip breakfast and just hope for the best…

    Hi FrauB, I’m doingt quite alright actually. I wouldn’t have thought I would say that, because yesterday evening I had a wine-tasting, went to bed late and had to get up early this morning with a nice little hangover… I get older… Anyway, I decided to try and fast anyway and it went a lot better than expected. I had to teach two lessons, still feeling pretty ooooooooold, but after that things went up. I bought 200g raspberries and a kefir and had some raspberries before lunch. Then I went running, thinking that I might cut my round a little shorter today, but feeling so well that I ran the whole distance (5.5km). After the shower and raspberries with half the kefir (75g) I felt even better. So, planning on having BBQ tonight, to use up the last 300cal πŸ™‚
    How are you doing? Hope you could take your mind off food and stayed busy! I would say that in the end, if you have near 500cal instead of 411 you will still lose weight, as you did before. So maybe cut yourself a little slack. I too normally try to stay around 450-475 (which would be a quarter of my TDEE of around 1850) but don’t beat myself up if I go the full 500. Treat yourself nicely, you deserve it!

    Hi Beck- wow that’s fantastic!! In my first fast week I also overdid the wine one night before a fast but the fast still went fine, so that’s good to know! Well done on your excellent fast-day food choices while out and about- I have stayed in the haven of my home for my fasts so far…and running 5.5k is brilliant! I did 4k yesterday morning before I broke my fast which worked well. Not sure if I’ll manage it tomorrow though because of kids stuff on in the morning. Anyway, today has gone fine despite my wobble so that is good. I just had ghekin (12 cals) and a bowl of watered down lentil soup (108 cals) about half an hour ago. Later I’m going to have either a salad with a boiled egg and a bit of tuna or a load of veg including mushrooms cooked with an egg thrown in (not quite an omelette, more like a load of egg coated vegetables…). Thanks for the reassurance on 411/ 500 cals. I think I’ll manage it today, but you’re right, it’s basically calorie restriction that will lose me the weight and a few extra calories on fast day will not interfere with my goals in the long run. Thanks again and well done again for an impressive and inspiring Friday fast-day story! πŸ™‚

    Well, I had a beef filet with zucchini and feta (feta on top of the zucchini, Wrapped in tinfoil and cooked on the bbq, tastes great!) and tomato salad. I’m feeling better now! But I had to watch the children eat butterzopf with butter and honey on top, that almost killed me (typical hangover food for me)… But I almost made it, am really looking forward to tomorrow! Hope you feel ok too 😊

    Egg covered vegetables sounds interesting. For now I’ve bought some bananas and planning on trying your pancake recipe 😊

    Let me know how you get on with the banana pancakes! I eat one nearly every day for breakfast at the moment because I find them so filling and they are refined sugar and refined carb free! A 250 calorie breakfast that keeps me going til mid-afternoon- perfect! Have a great weekend πŸ™‚

    Good morning! I just had a banana-pancake with warm berries and it was absolutely delicious! Thanks for the tip 😊. I like bananas but not too much of them, but the pancake didn’t even taste of banana. The consistency is very nice too, my only problem was to turn the thing over… But i managed 😜. Have a nice sunday! I’ll go running soon and after that it’s family time. Fasting tuesday and hopefully friday again. Oh, and weighed 60.4kg yesterday, so close to another milestone πŸ˜ƒ

    Great!! I love them too. Yes, turning is tricky, mine usually breaks but it still tastes good! Have a good run and a good Sunday. Great weigh-in!! I’m waiting to weigh in til Saturday now. The holiday week of (hopefully) salads, fish and veg and not too much pizza and ice cream (for me anyway) begins! I’ve packed my running things and plan to run at least twice after skipping breakfast and before a light lunch :)) I’ll check in next week! All the best! Cheers πŸ™‚

    Hi I am new to this and haven’t started the 5-2 yet. Can anyone tell me on fast days can I have milk and sweetner in my tea and use as calories or can I only have black tea on these days. Thankyou

    Hi Refinnej, you can have what ever you want, just keep to under 500 calories.
    Most of my calories on fast days come from milk in cuppas! πŸ˜‰

    FrauB, enjoy your holiday! And don’t feel bad if you eat more and exercise less than planned, sometimes it just comes naturally, but if not don’t beat yourself up over it and enjoy the break. I’ll be here when you come back ready to motivate you!

    Refinnej, you can decide by yourself, for what you want to use your calories. Be careful about sweetener tough, it may trigger more hunger…

    So, I’m on my first fast day today, friday is planned to be my second fast day of the week, but will be rather hard, because the weather will be good and the whole family is off work/school/preschool that day (as it is the day between the holiday on thursday and the weekend). I will try anyway, we’ll see if I’m stronger than last time πŸ˜‰

    Today went really well so far, I wasn’t hungry at all and went running during my lunchbreak without having eaten anything at all. I just finished an apple now and hope to be able to keep going until dinner, that would mean a really nice dinner for a total of 400cal πŸ™‚ (which makes a grand total of 470cal, more or less). I’m thinking that maybe the hunger also depends on your evening before? Yesterday I had chocolate covered oats with milk as a treat after dinner instead of eating “plain” chocolate or cookies or whatever. Oats are supposed to help you feel fuller for a longer time (or that’s what I read), whereas chocolate spikes you bloodsugar levels and leaves you hungry. Maybe this is just as true for the next morning? Or maybe it was all a coincidence… I will definitely watch that.

    I really hope that I will make it to 60kg this week, that would be just magical.

    Take care, everybody, and have a nice week.

    I just had chili con carne out of the can (but with no additives or sugar) and it tasted surprisingly well! Am really full now, a nice alternatives if I don’t feel like cooking after work and getting both children from school and daycare… That’s always a little stressfull. Hubby made smoothie but I needed something warm and salty. Today was a good fast day 😊

    So, as I feared, the second fast day this week WAS a problem. I did really well until the evening, after the nice family day by the lake I gave in because I really wanted a beer… A beer needs some food for company. But still, I’m at about 1000cal for today, I’ll just take it as half a fast day. Better than the other days this week, I just ate too much. Maybe there will be no weightloss this week, but hopefully next week again. Some weeks are better than others πŸ˜‰

    Hey Ladies…I have been keeping up with your posts and you all seem to be doing so well, we’ll done! Reaching 60kg would be a dream for me so I can totally imagine how you must feel when you step on the scales and see that lovely number.

    I have fallen off the wagon entirely πŸ™ I did well for a couple of weeks but my addiction to food has got the better of me again. When I have fasted before, I felt like I need to push through the first 3-4 weeks before fasting becomes routine and I haven’t been able to break that boundary this time around. I really really want to overcome that, it’s so frustrating. What hasn’t helped is my inability to say no to a colleague at work who is a huge foodie too…she brings in treats on a daily basis just for her and I to share. She has even suggested we start a ‘Treat Kitty’ which is total sabotage. But it’s my lack of willpower that’s the problem. The worst part of the day for me is before breakfast. I really want that first meal of the day.

    Sorry for the miserable post, I have been holding off posting on here because you are all so positive and I didn’t want to spoil that. I just feel so low about not conquering this demon.

    Have any of you guys felt like this too at any point? How did you overcome it?

    Hi Natasha

    When you say youre addicted to food are you eating way too much veggies and whole fruit? Or is it more your sugary treats like chocolate, cakes, biscuits? If its the latter then youre not addicted to food as such, its just sugar that your addicted to. That will take about a month to detox from.

    That treat kitty has disaster written all over it. When I started my 5:2 diet I told everyone at work. Doing that worked for me. Damned if I was going to “fail” in front of everyone. In the end they would even tempt me (all in good fun) but it just made my resolve even stronger. Id tell your friend that you cant join in any treats anymore as you’ve started the 5:2 diet.

    Hi Natasha, I do know what you’re going through. I can’t count how many times I decided to watch what I eat and an hour later had a chocolate bar in my hands. That’s what made 5:2 so ideal for ne. But it’s all about the right mindset at the right time. Don’t give up and try again! I think you should talk with your coworker about your plan to lose weight and ask her to help you, meaning don’t bring you any more food. In a nice way of course.

    I’m finding myself making a lot of bad food choices right now. I even try to save as many calories as possible for the evening so I can eat more chocolate. I’m a little over my TDEE almost every NFD now. The effect I experienced in the beginning, where I mostly was just happy to be able to eat on non fast days is gone for the moment. I think after almost 3 month of watching the NFD too I got a little tired. So on the one hand I try and relax for a bit, on the other hand I really don’t want to because I’m only 1.3kg away from starting maintenance and I feel I should power through…

    Well, I still lost 100g this week, and next week is a normal 5:2 week again, if I don’t continue to loose I can still become stricter again. Or what do you think?

    Hi Beck, hi everyone,

    Sorry, I was off the radar on holiday til late last night. As i expected, I didn’t fast and I didn’t even run but it was a very active week. I won’t go on the scales til tomorrow, going to try and do a fast day today, although it will be hard. In-laws are still here til Friday, but their other son who lives with them sometimes does 5:2 so they won’t think I’m completely bonkers.

    Beck- well done, sounds like you’ve done really well. You Friday fast day that ended with beer and food is exactly like mine a couple of weeks ago. Sounds like you handled it really well. Have you seen the magic 59?

    Natasha- I understand your struggles. I’ve have had various colleagues with whom I’ve ended up getting into bad habits. And I agree, the first few weeks of getting into this way of eating is hard. I’m worried, now having this week off, if I’ll be able to get back into it and get past the three week barrier. I was so gung-ho and I know I will be again if I can do two (or three days) to make up for last week. That’s why I want to do today and then hopefully Tuesday and Thursday or Friday as well.

    I’ve read a few tips on here about getting through the first few fast days. One is to have a beef oxo cube as a drink. And you could even chop up a mushroom in there and so you have something to chew on. It comes in at about 20/ 25 cals. I definitely find getting through to the afternoon on no cals or just milk in tea or a beef broth works well. Then I can prepare a salad slowly and eat it around 5-6 and then still have a bit to play around with. Celery sticks and low calorie cottage cheese is also something substantial looking for very few calories. Have the right food available and the wrong food not available and plan a fast day meticulously.

    Good luck everyone- have a great Sunday! I really hope I don’t see 60 on the scales tomorrow (my goal is 55kg- (I’m really small)). The lowest I have seen in the lat few weeks is 59.3 but then it went back up to 59.5, 59.7… then time of the month bloating stopped me from taking readings seriously. I hope that despite the holiday week, a better time of the month will boost my reading tomorrow!

    Cheers! FrauB πŸ™‚

    Welcome back frauB! Don’t worry too much about the scale tomorrow, even if it shows a little bit more, it will be correctef soon now you’re back with 5:2. just concentrate on your fastdays, I hope today goes well for you! I’ll be fasting tomorrow and probably wednesday or thursday. Today I try to do a light day because I ate way too much yesterday, my goal is around 1000-1200cal.

    No, I’m not yet at 59something, I went down from 60.4 to 60.3… So close! 😜

    So, I finished yesterday with 1150cal, without ever being really hungry… It’s funny how there are days when you just don’t seem to need as much food as others. Today is my first fast day at home with the kids for quite some time, so far it’s going really well. I cooked lentils with onion, carrots and chicken, worth 420cal and had about a third of it for lunch, so I could eat with the children (they got mashed potatoes, carrots, chicken and sauce, they would never touch the lentils, sigh). The rest of the lentils will be my dinner, which gives me room for some fruit or carrot sticks or smoothie later in the evening. The last few fast days were quite easy ones what concerns hunger, I hope it stays that way. Maybe my body got used to the fasting rhythm?

    Hope everybody is fine, fasting or otherwise and wish you all a nice day 😊

    Just had a nectarine for dessert. Had another really unhungry fast day… I like this development 😊. Still looking forward to my milkcoffee and some more food tomorrow.

    I ate too much last week but did exercise on 5 days out of 7. hope the light day yesterday and two proper fast days this week along with more exercise will help shift my weight under the magic 60!

    Hi everyone, thanks for your positivity and encouragement. I have successfully completed my fast day today! (Well it’s not over yet, but I have done so well that I won’t sabotage) I have been at home all day with my son and have even been at the cooker making him several different meals to freeze and store and I didn’t give in. To be fair, I have had one of those days where I didn’t feel that I struggled at all, which was really nice. I had lentil and bacon soup for dinner which came in at 263 cals but I’m going to round it to 300 as I had a splash of whole milk on my morning tea and a few bits of grapes with my son for dinner. So I actually have about 130 call left! Beck I noticed you mentioned fruit, is that something you do regularly? I tend to avoid fruit because of the sugar content, but I would love a banana to round off the day.

    Bigbooty I am not necessarily addicted to sugar, though I do eat too much chocolate and other such things. My problem is that I use food for many more things than to combat hunger. If I am sad, cold, tired, unwell, in pain etc I just eat. Toast with butter at midnight is me all over – I’m a textbook comfort eater.

    Beck your lentil and chicken meal sounds lovely, how do you prepare it?

    FrauB, that tip about the beef oxo cube sounds lovely, I think it could be a lifesaver on hard days. I, like you, try to have all of my calories in the evening. I find it makes for a much more satisfied tummy when I go to bed.

    Hooray for a successful Day 1! (Again…)

    Hope you all had a lovely weekend, cheers to you all and to a successful week of 5.2 xxx

    Hi Beck, You’re really inspiring me with your low cal NFDs and successful, hunger-free fast days! I managed a fast yesterday, coming in at 530 cals. This am on the scales I got 59.7 which I’m actually happy with. Not seeing the dreaded 60 was great, and given that I was nearly 62 a few weeks ago, it’s good. Of course the first bit comes off easily and after that you have to be happy for every 100g you lose. When I think of my original goals I have to laugh, I thought I could do AFD and lose 1-2 kilos a week for 8 weeks!! Now I’m really happy to do 5:2 and lose a tiny bit each week over a much longer period. I do have a wedding to attend in less than 5 weeks and if I’ve shifted another kilo or so I’ll be happy. Also, because I’m jogging a few times a week in preparation for a 5k run at the end of June, I think I might be losing fat from my belly but not losing actual weight as my leg muscles firm up, so I need to make sure I celebrate shape changes, old clothes fitting etc and not just weight loss. I’m going to fast tomorrow so that I’ve still got a bit of flex at the end of the week and can hopefully fit a third fast day in. I must say, I agree with you Beck, the fast days are getting easier for me too. The last two, I felt like I was cheating because a tiny 200 cal meal had made me feel so full I thought it couldn’t be a true fast day. My new method is to get to 3-4pm, have 200 calories and then I can still have a salad or soup later (or quark…) and then maybe, if I get even more used to it, I can skip the second ‘meal’ all together and just have 200 cals on fast days. Today was a non-fast day and I had yogurt and fruit for breakfast and a salady lunch at a veggie place near work (then an ice cream) and then ‘Abendbrot’ for tea, i.e. rye bread with ham and cheese and cucumber and tomato and stuff. I had a small glass of beer and when the in-laws had chocolate after I didn’t have any. Refusing chocolate- miracles do happen!! Good luck everyone and keep posting! Cheers πŸ™‚

    Hi Natasha, I just read your post! I was busy writing and didn’t see it pop up. Congratulations!! Getting a very successful fast day in the bag is just fantastic! Here’s to another one sometime this week! It sounds like you just got into the zone if you could be in the kitchen all day and still manage it. My first fast day this time around I pretty much lay in bed all day manically reading this forum and the AFD book, drinking glasses of water and tea and feeling crappy about all the work I should have doing while my kids were in daycare. Anyway, well done again, keep us updated with how you feel and how you get on with your next fast day! Cheers πŸ™‚

    Hi Natasha,
    I really don’t understand the psychology of over eating for comfort, as opposed to simply not knowing what to eat, so I cant offer any good advice. Your work colleague sounds like a potential “partner in crime” which is going to make it difficult for you. You really have to say no to that treat kitty and eating with her. If food is your “happy place” its going to be hard as there will always be reasons you need comforting. You need to find another happy place. At work I put my headphones on put my favourite music on and go for a one hour walk for lunch. On the weekends I go for a two hour bike ride. Its my happy place. You need to find a happy place that isn’t food.

    Good luck with it.

    I love eating. I live to eat (not eat to live) and planning and cooking meals and eating out gives me a lot of pleasure. That also means I sometimes eat for reasons other than hunger. What has worked for me in recent years is to, on a normal weekday, have dinner with the kids or early, by 6pm and then not eat again in the evening. I tell myself it’s because I can’t sleep on a full stomach and it’s also a left over of experimenting with food windows after trying 5:2 two years ago. That way I don’t drink alcohol during the week (on a normal week day) and I don’t eat chocolate or fix a snack in the evening. I drink Roibos or peppermint tea. On the downside it has led to me feeling justified in having a sweet treat straight after lunch which I have found really hard to control. But, 5:2 is helping me shake that habit and the no eating in the evening habit is so fixed now, that if I get the sweet treat after lunch under control I will feel I am winning in my battle against sugary treats.

    Anyway, today is a fast day for me and so far so good. I have had two cups of tea with a splash of milk and a roibos with no milk. Going to get on with some computer work and house work now over lunchtime and then maybe have a lentil broth before I pick the kids up if I feel faint and hungry. If not, I’ll wait and eat something with them around 5:30. I have mushrooms in for a mushroom omelette or stuff for a salad. I’ll just see what I feel like.

    Good luck everyone and all the best!
    cheers
    FrauB

    Hi everybody. wow, the thread is alive again πŸ™‚

    Well, I completed my fast day yesterday without any problems. After two weeks of fighting hunger and cravings on my non fast days it seems another phase is over. Sunday as well as today I stayed very reasonable (which doesn’t mean I didn’t have treats, I just finished a pack of maltesers, but had no problem to stay low on my daily calories. I must say I’m relieved, I started to worry that 5:2 transforms me into a binger (I think this term is correct but am not 100% sure). I think I’ll have my second fastday of the week tomorrow and hope the weather allows me to go running at in my lunchbreak. And I hope my streak with easy fastdays is something more permanent.

    Natasha, I know comfort food. Almost everybody does, I would say. I think I never was as “addicted” as you describe it (no midnight toast for me), but I certainly found reasons to allow myself that extra brownie or french fries or chocolate or whatever. The reasons could be positive, in the sense that I got the treat as a reward, or negative, which would mean the treat was for me to get over something. A cigarette did the same thing for me, that’s why I gained 2kg after stopping to smoke at the end of last year.

    I regularly eat fruit on my fast days, I never experienced a problem. I think it’s a question of how you consumate eat. If you eat the whole fruit you get the healthy fibres too and the sugar spike from fruit alone can’t be that bad. I would not drink a fruitjuice on a fast day though (only sugar, no fibres). But I think there are people who react more to sugar, maybe that’s why some tend to avoid fruit on fastdays.

    frauB, I know it’s not funny, but the description of your first fast day made me laugh… I’m happy that this is not your regular fast day!!! It seems today is going well for you and the best thing is, it’s almost over :-). It’s great that you stayed under the dreaded 60kg, which means you didn’t gain weight during a whole week of holidays, congratulations! I’m impressed with your “no food in the evenings”-resolve, that’s my weakest time. I always try and save calories for some treats in the evening. I have some wine or beer during the week, maybe 1-3 times, but it’s less now that we stopped smoking (hubby and me, we used to have a glass of wine and sit outside smoking and talking, but without the cigarette there’s no reason to sit outside when it’s cold, and it’s not the same inside. I miss the talks but it’s a lot healthier this way).

    cheers πŸ™‚

    Hi everyone! Beck, don’t worry about laughing. It was funny, in a pathetic kind of way and I can certainly laugh about it now, especially as my fast day behaviour has improved… πŸ™‚ I know what you mean about missing wine (and cigs) and chats with your husband. Pre-kids we were much more likely to crack open the vino of an evening and in the summer sit in a hammock outside. BUT- you should still find a way to enjoy a chat together in the evening without cigs and alcohol. My husband works away a lot of the week but when he is here, we try to have a cup of roibos and put our computers away for an hour before bed. Don’t always manage it though… That’s something I’m hoping will change when we move to SE Asia in July. We’ll actually have a lot more time together and he’ll have a lot more time at home.

    Anyway, fast day went well yesterday. I had an oxo broth (with mushroom for the first time) before I picked the kids up and then ate a mushroom omelette and salad when they had their tea. then I had a small bowl of fresh mango and yogurt and two strawberries. This morning I did a 5k jog before I broke my fast with my trusty old banana pancake. So filling!!! And the best news of all was my good reading on the scales this morning. I started this diet on 1st May and today is 1st of June, so I can say that in May I lost 3 kilos! I got 58.7 today- first time seeing 58 for while!! I am much more realistic about goals than at the beginning of May and so my goal for June is to lose a kilo, or just over. i.e. see 57.5. Because to be sure, 2 of the 3 kilos I lost in May were water etc and the mandatory skewing of readings by doing a purposeful heavy weigh-in for the first weigh-in (serial dieters will know what I mean :)). So I am now perfectly happy to lose a kilo a month and reach my ultimate goal of 55kg (BMI 24) by August/ September.

    Anyway, for all the fasters today- good luck!
    Beck- that’s great that you’ve got NFDs under control and are feeling good about it. Importantly, fast days are becoming routine and easy for you and I think that is amazing. I did 8 fast days in May and I hope to do 8 (or more) in June too.

    All the best everyone, cheers, FrauB πŸ™‚

    Beck100 and everyone, It’s fascinating reading all your FD experiences. Very inspiring too. I’ve just started the 5:2 after a 3 year break and new to these forum discussions.

    Have any you of guys used ‘Shirataki noodles’ and/or chia seeds? I wondered if any one has had good/bad experiences which they’d be willing to share.

    FrauB, you mention OXO broth on a fast day – is that just from a cube? One of the other dieters suggested Bovril, but I can’t have Bovril, not sure why but it gives me severe constipation!

    Hi Pissupoosa- (cool name!)
    I just crumble a whole beef oxo cube into a big mug and add water (and lots of black pepper). Yesterday tried the mushroom trick too and liked it (it added four calories!). I don’t know about constipation, but (look away if you’re squeamish) that could be why I didn’t have a code brown on my run today (I.e. needing to go for a no. 2 while jogging- something I suffer from). In which case, this is a good tip for when I do the actual 5k run at the end of June!!!- I’ll try that again!
    I use chia seeds in my home made granola and I throw them in to muffins etc if I’m baking (rarely at the mo). I haven’t used the noodles. I know there’s a craze for some noodles that are really low calorie that you can get at Morrisons that I read about on another thread, Is it those? Unfortunately I live in Germany so can’t get to morisons otherwise I would have liked to try them. (p.s. I have to import my own oxo cubes…)
    Cheers everyone! πŸ™‚

    Thanks frauB (literal translation of my username = pissu-crazy poosa-cat! lol)

    I see, I might have to do that with a veg/chicken cube. Have you tried the brand Kallo? their organic chicken stock cubes are very nice (haven’t tried the beef ones). I think it’s a Dutch company, so you might find more of their products in Germany, don’t know..

    I’ll check that thread too, about the noodles. Don’t know of they are the same.
    May also check out a chinese supermarket in town.

    Chia seem like a very versatile seed. I’ve seen recipes where they use soaked seeds as a thickening agent, instead of cornstarch.

    All the best for the 5K – I’ll wish for a smooth run without ‘code brown’ πŸ™‚ (no pun intended).

    Hi everybody, and welcome Pissupoosa! I’m on my second fast day of the week and am actually getting nervous about my weigh in tomorrow… Imagine seeing a 5 at the beginning of the reading!!! But still, I have to say, I’m already very comfortable in my “new” body, it’s more to prove to myself that I can go below 60 and above all to give me some wiggle room for when I start maintenance. The fast day today is going quite well, but I got some problems at the end of my 5.7k run, I was very out of breath! now after an apple and some cashew kernels I’m perfectly fine again. I just realised that the euro 2016 ist going to start next week, I even had to rearrange some of my planned FDs to fit into the schedule (I want to see all the Spain and Switzerland matches (I’m half swiss, half spanish) and support hubby for the Italy matches, which makes for a very busy schedule of BBQ, Beer and Football ;-).

    FrauB, I’m really not planning on limiting alcohol to weekends, so with the better weather and slowly but surely forgetting the old habits of smoking I’m looking forward to pick up the old habit. I’m not talking about litres of wine, but 1-2 glasses and I think that’s ok. Have to account for the calories of course and never on a fast day.

    Pissupoosa I am trying out chia seeds lately, up to now I made a chia seed pudding, which was interesting, but I think I can make it better. I bought a cookbook (deliciously ella) where the chia seed are used as you say as a thickening agent because the form a kind of a gel when theyre soaked for some time. can’t help you with the shirataki noodles though.

    FrauB I have another crazy habit with the scale, I didn’t do a “heavy reading”. I have a withings scale which sends my weight directly to an app on my phone. If I don’t like the reading I jump off the scale in order not to have the weight on my app… that’s why I officially started at 66.8kg when in reality I was over 67 on occasion… ;-). I’m still doing that by the way, I’m only taking the good readings. πŸ™‚

    I shall keep my fingers crossed for 5 at the beginning for you Beck100 πŸ™‚

    Do you normally exercise on a fast day?
    Tomorrow is my second FD this week and I’m planning to do a Kettle Bell class at my local gym. I’ve got into the habit of exercising in the morning (fasting – not particularly by choice but pre-6am is too early for breakfast). I usually do an interval run (treadmill) plus a class. Sometimes I do 20-30 mins cardio+ body weight exercises at home if I don’t feel like going to the gym.
    So tomorrow will be the first day I combine run+class AND fast day. It should be interesting. My aim is to keep off the hunger pangs – so protein-rich breakfast… maybe with chia seeds (my research also tell me its a filler). I’ll keep some fruit/nuts handy just in case.
    Any fast day exercise/food tips would be much appreciated.

    frauB – I thought I was the only one who didn’t record ‘heavy readings’ :-p

    Hi everyone,
    Becks, yeah- totally, I wasn’t suggesting you should (limit alcohol to weekends) I just meant it’s a shame to miss out on chats because of stopping smoking. I stopped smoking years ago and always thought that I had my best ideas while I stood by the back door having a cig. I was worried I wouldn’t have any good ideas anymore! But I guess I must still have good ideas (or at least what seem like good ideas at the time…)
    I love how you hop off the scales if you see a bad reading appear. I am comparatively low tech and record it on a document on my phone so I can pick and choose what readings I write in. Pissupoosa, it’s Beck who does that. I purposefully record an extra heavy reading at the start of a diet so I will definitely have a good first week!
    Becks- I’ve got everything crossed for a magic 5 for your tomorrow!! I’ve had an ok NFD. A little treat after lunch (10 mini eggs- 150 cals) but lunch was homemade asparagus soup and a bit of rye bread and cheese. Tonight won’t be mental so I’ll keep within my TDEE quite easily. Hopefully I’ve got the nerves for another fast day tomorrow to complete my planned 3 for this week (to make up for holiday). I think I will.

    Pissupoosa, chia seeds are great, but very ‘in vogue’. Their nutritional profile is brilliant but to eat 100g is impossible. Are you planning to have breakfast after your gym sesh? I’m going to sound like a stuck record but a banana pancake (1 mashed up banana, 1 egg) is so filling and less than 200 cals (depending on size of banana). Or low calorie yogurt with berries? Good luck!! I’m still finding my way with exercising on fast days so don’t really have much advice.

    Good luck everyone! Cheers πŸ™‚

    Ooops! I think I saw frauB next to ‘hopping off scales’ and went with that, sorry!
    Yeah, planning breakfast after gym – I’ll keep you all posted on how the day goes.
    Good luck all! πŸ™‚

    Hi there! Just a short hello from me, it’s so much more work on the phone… 😜

    FrauB, I didn’t feel obligated to stop drinking because of you, don’t worry 😊. And hey, even if you can’t do the 3rd FD, remember, you don’t have to make up for anything, you enjoyed your holidays and you didn’t even gain weight!

    Pissupoosa, I often exercise on FDs, I find it’s no problem (even easier sometimes), I can use my lunchbreak (after all I’m not spending it eating) and after all I read its better for burning fat (the body goes after it’s reserves). About food on FDs you will probably have to find for yourself what suits you. Eggs are good for breakfasr if you need it, in general proteins (eggs, white meat, fish) and vegetables.

    Read you tomorrow!

    Pissupoosa, do you exercise every morning?

    I’ve been doing average 4-5x week gym/running/home exercise. I’ve started going to a 5k park-run with a friend – only 2 runs so far, but I want to keep going.
    I’ve been suffering from depression since my mother passed away 2 years ago. On top of that, 6 months ago my husband was made redundant. So it’s been tough time for both of us. Both our situations have compounded and started to affect our relationship. I was on antidepressants for a while but they didn’t do much in the way of fixing my mood. So I thought I should take things to my own hands and Started doing regular exercise. Does wonders to my mood. Since I’ve already tried the 5:2 I thought I should get back into it.
    Nothing like a kick in the butt to get you motivated πŸ˜‹
    Enough with the sop story – I’m coming out of it slowly. My husband has had a couple of job interviews this week. We’re also having counselling. So it’s getting there.

    Right I’m off to bed – shall update on my second FD+gym day tomorrow. Night!

    Dear Pissupoosa, I’m very impressed by your story! It takes a lot of guts/energy/work to get yourself up having a depression and take matters into your own hands! Exercise does wonders to ones mood, I notice it too. I hope it will continue to get better and better, keep going!

    Well, as for me, I did it!!!!! 59.6 this morning on the scale, yay :-)! So no hoping off today, I literally danced! I’m really really happy with my weight now, I think the last time I was under 60kg was maybe 16-17 years ago?

    I’m also happy to be done with the fasts for this week and will enjoy (sensibly) eating today :-). And I will have to shop some clothes, because after the jeans and other trousers my tops are now starting to become too loose. So sad πŸ™‚

    frauB, are you on your 3rd fast day? In my 3 month of 5:2 I only managed 3 fast days once, and I had the impression it gave my weight a “nudge” in the right direction…downwards.

    Good morning everyone- hi Beck- yes, I was just about to post. Today is fast day 3 so I will have fasted Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday. If today works out, it will be my first three full on fast days in an ADF way. Part of me is apprehensive and a bit resentful of the fast day, which makes me think how much easier 5:2 is compared to AFD. The last few weeks I have gone into my fast days positive and gung-ho and today I’m a bit like ‘really? no breakfast?’ but hopefully I can pull it off. Luckily the routine will be shaken up, as the kids will be with me from 11 and parents-in-law me and the kids will all go into town for the afternoon. I think that will make it easier. I plan to take an apple to have when I really feel hungry and then later on when we’re back at home the in-laws have bought a huge amount of white asparagus (they’re getting their fix before they fly back to Brazil tomorrow). SO I can have a plate of boiled white asparagus and a tiny bit of ham and butter for my calories later.
    Also, I must publicly shame myself for what happened last night… It was a non fast day so it’s all ok really but although I’d had a modest asparagus soup for lunch (monther-in-law made it the other day) I decided to finish off my lentil soup for tea to be healthly and have some calories to play with. Unfortunately, I realsied after heating it, the lentil soup had gone off already so I couldn’t eat it. INstead I had some lovely rye bread with melted brie and tomatoes and basil, half a wiener sausage, various other bites of this and that and THEN a FULL-SIZED PINK MAGNUM!!! why? Because it was there… it was the last one of a pack of four in the freezer that dear old mother in law bought last week. At the time when they all had one I only allowed myself a bite of hubby’s because I was feeling virtuous so it was easy to persuade myself yesterday that this last remaining magnum was MINE. Anyway, it was a non-fast day so all ok and hopefully I didn’t got too far over my TDEE. I felt bad though. The last month has all been about control at home for me and any treats have been on holiday or out of the home.
    Anyway, enough about me. Pissupoosa, I’m sorry you’ve had a tough time recently and I am so impressed on the upward spiral you are making for yourself. You are Taking Positive Action which is my mantra when things start feeling too much for me and I don’t feel on top of things. All that exercise, 5:2, counselling and hopefully a new job for your husband soon will hopefully help you feel great about life and yourself!
    Beck!! WOW!!!! well done, that is an amazing achievement and I am so impressed! 59.6 and a BMI of about -5 :)))) I’m going to be reading/ listening to you very closely now because I am so conscious of how hard I find it to go into maintenance mode. It’s why I’ve realised recently I am a text-book yoyo-dieter. I diet, get results, feel great and then let it all go. I want to break the cycle this time around and so for me, in a few months when I’ve reached my target, maintenance is absolutely key. This really entails rewiring my brain when it comes to sugar and food as a reward. I don’t want to love food any less, because I’m a foodie and it’s all I know, but I must learn to respect the fact that too much over my TDEE means weight gain. that’s it. No way around it.
    Anyway, I really am waffling now. Mmmmmm waffles….. going to make another cup of tea. sigh.
    Good luck everyone!!! Cheers FrauB

    frauB, I’ve been there. Don’t beat yourself up about that magnum, in the long run it doesn’t matter. I was in this kind of spiral the last week and the week before, I had cravings, followed them, and then beat myself up over it. Which made this whole concept senseless, because it is about the fast days and TRYING to stay sensible the other days. There are times where you have no problems staying within your TDEE and others where it is really hard, so you have to allow yourself the occasional treats day. The important thing is to be steadfast on your fastdays and that’s what you do. If you don’t overeat every single NFD you will still have a calorie deficit and lose weight. Try to relax, because if not you become kind of obsessed with food and calories (at least that’s what I did, ate loads of small things instead of the one thing I really craved but had some more calories – in the end I ate more).

    Good luck for the rest of this fast day, after this you will have at least 3 NFDs and can relax for a bit. I’m sure you will be gung-ho again for the first fast day next week :-). I really couldn’t see myself doing AFD… so, see this week as a big achievement and it will soon be over fastwise.

    Aarrrggh so frustrating! I just spent my 20 minute lunch break at work typing a post to you guys and I clicked something and its gone! I will have to retype it all later.

    Just a quick question guys – my fast day calorie limit is 411, and my dinner and 2 cups of vegetable boullion for lunch bring me to 260 cals. What can i have to use up the remaining 151 calories that will be satifying??? Dinner is soup and I dont want to venture down a carbohydrate path – so Im not going to allow myself a slice of bread or anything as you’ll see from my post later that bread is NOT a good idea for me…

    Im thinking a banana and something else?

    Natasha: Protein! Fish, chicken, eggs…

    Yep, if you like bananas, go for it, they are filling. Weigh it with the skin off and I think 100g is 90 cals and medium sized banana is about 100g. If it’s small then there’s still.kore calories. I would recommend low Calorie cottage cheese and Celery and Cucumber sticks or a handful of almonds. Totally up to you though. Shame you lost a long post, that happened to me last week. At least it kept me busy rewriting it on a fast day…
    Today going OK for me. I changed my plan and had a 200 cal lunch when everyone else had lunch at home before coming into town. I had 20g of smoked salmon, a gherkin, cucumber slices and a salad with celery, apple, almonds (walnuts are better) and a few raisins and a splodge of full fat natural yogurt. Yum. Now in town. Got a thermos of camomile tea…

    Well done Beck100 for going below 60, great achievement!

    frauB, I’m sure everyone on this 5:2 journey have days where we eat something completely off the diet and feel bad about it. No point in beating your self up about it as Beck says. I try to think of 5:2 as an ongoing journey (not just for the weight loss goal), so when I feel bad about eating something naughty, I think – I’ll have a another chance to stop my self from doing it again
    Pink Magnum sounds yum though :-p

    Natasha, my dinner tonight will be less than 100 cals – that allows me a poached egg and chicken broth with raw veg. If you eat eggs, then you can fit in 2 medium eggs comfortably into your allowance.

    A quick update on my second FD:
    45min gym class 645-730am, then to work.
    Blown 400 cals on breakfast already – small apple, porridge with chia seed topped with blueberries (I mixed a few dates into the porridge, which increased the calories – should’ve planned that better!).
    I bought some chia seeds last night. They’re ok added to porridge (I added before cooking in milk, but can be added after too I think). Fairly tasteless, but kept me fuller for longer I thought, than porridge on its own. 15g serving (75 cals) in the porridge is plenty because the seeds expand and go soft – I’ll probably add less next time so save a few calories for dinner πŸ™‚

    Dinner will be chicken broth (stock cube) with raw veg and a poached/boiled egg for dinner. Total will be a bit above 500 (~540).
    So far, the combination of gym and FD has been ok – felt tired and sleepy this morning, but better now (I’ve had few cups of mint tea, and a mug of chicken broth).
    I had an apple as soon as I came out the gym, but I could have gone without it until breakfast.

    So, onwards and upward (or downwards with the weight hopefully!).
    Till the next update…

    Good evening everybody

    Well, after 4 eat days – some I was better, some not so much – I’m ready for the next FD tomorrow. Second FD wll be wednesday. I’m a little more relaxed now I’m through the big barrier (60kg). I’ll continue 5:2 for some more weeks, I don’t know how long exactly, will make it up as I go…

    Hope you are all well!
    Cheers

    Good morning ladies! I hope you all had a good weekend? I didn’t get a chance to re-post my entry that got deleted before I pressed submit last week, so here it is…

    So last week I fasted for 2 days, Monday and Thursday. My fast days were fine and I was really pleased that I managed to do two days, especially as I came down with a nasty cold towards the end of the week. I felt really rubbish on Thursday but still managed to power through and complete the fast, which is a bit of an achievement for me πŸ™‚ I also did two workouts at home with the husband – one cardio class and one high energy pilates class – both from the “Insanity” programme. I didn’t complete either workout but I gave them my best so it’s a start. I also went out for a long walk with the husband and baby yesterday. It doesn’t sound like much but its more activity than I do normally so I hope Im heading in the correct direction.

    However I have realised that I really lack control on non-fast days. Bread is a huge weakness for me, and was the saboteur of my good calorie count on Tuesday. You learn so much about yourself and your eating habits when you really knuckle down and count everything you eat. It’s a study of yourself in some ways. Moving more and making more sensible food choices on non-fast days are definitely areas which I need to work on.

    I got up this morning determined to fast 3 days this week, starting with today. I gave in by 9am….which is disappointing, but I will make sure I am under my TDEE for sure. That way at least it wont be a wasted day. I will also try to do another workout this evening to give the start of the week a good basis on which to carry on.

    Thanks all for your words of advice and encouragement again. You are an inspriring bunch of ladies πŸ™‚

    Fingers crossed for a good week, and good luck to you all for your impending fasts! x

    Hi again everyone,
    Hope you had a good weekend and good weather (where ever you were) πŸ™‚

    I tried to eat healthy over the NFDs (Friday-Sunday), but like you and bread Natasha, my downfall is rice! I made a lovely, healthy coq-au-vin (from mimi’s fast cooking recipe book) on Friday but couldn’t resist some rice with that. I’m not going to beat my self up about it, because I donated blood on Friday evening – so I decided my body needed a little more sustenance than usual.
    I skipped my usual park-run on Saturday to take my bike for a service, and did a power yoga class on Sunday morning instead – I usually do both.

    This is my week 2, fast day 1
    Did 30 mins of aerobics around 530 am followed by fruit (papaya, blueberries, raspberries) and yoghurt breakfast (178 calories).
    Natasha, what’s your insanity workout? Do you follow an app or video or something? I want to have a structured plan for my home workouts but haven’t found anything good yet. Just been using plans from Pinterest etc.

    So far I’ve felt fine. Managed to ignore and not give in to the stomach growls! Been drinking a lot of water and now a mug of Roobosh tea.

    Haven’t weighed my self yet – maybe will after the second fast day (Thursday)

    S

    Hello all!

    I’m struggling a bit today, but it’s not too bad, just slightly hungry all the time. My 3 year old is really hard work at the moment, he doesn’t accept a no and it’s a constant fight. He follows me EVERYWHERE and does EVERYTHING with me… Of course never shutting up. NEVER! Aaaargh!!! Sorry, I needed to let that out. I love my children very much but sometimes it’s hard work to have them… 😜

    Well done Natasha, seems you’re getting into the 5:2 groove, keep on keeping on! Pissupoosa, seems you’re managing week 2 just as well as you did week one, that’s just great! I love bread and rice, by the way… And potatoes! 😊

    I’ll weigh myself after the second FD, maybe my weight will not go down because last week I lost 700-800grams, which is a lot (I’m not in the starting 5:2 phase anymore). Yesterday I completed a 8.3k run, I think I’ll try a 10k soon. I’m running twice a week normally and do a kettlebell/strength/HIIT or pilates workout 1-3 times a week. Which in my opinion would allow me to calculate my TDEE higher than I do, but I leave it to give me some room…

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