Ezz,

Many long-term fasters look forward to their fast days, so not funny at all!

I work full time, so now drink at weekends only… except when I’m on holiday 😵 I’d love to have just one glass and stop, but I do tend to get a thirst on! 5:2 has helped me learn and understand quite a bit about my (bad) habits, but I’m still a work in progress.

Hermaj,

I’m loving your new found enthusiasm. I’ve been doing 24 hour fasts with a slightly more generous evening meal for a while. The results don’t necessarily show up the following morning for me, like a lower cal fast does, but they do seem effective.

I’m not sure whether it’s a good substitute, but I really like feta. It’s good crumbled in stuff, but also bakes nicely.

Good morning everyone from lovely Melbourne, grey but comfortable!

Congratulations Ezz! Some lovely treats and mindfulness too!

Cheers to all of you doing lots of weighing and BSD inspired things!
Hermaj, I’m not so keen on curdy cottage cheese either. It was the only soft cheese around when I was growing up, and then when I discovered ricotta, well… I haven’t had cottage cheese since. But I guess there are some recipes where ricotta wouldn’t work.

Sarah I like this article for explaining about weight fluctuations: https://www.totalwellbeingdiet.com/community/blog/are-your-weighing-scales-telling-the-truth/#uff9CJK6rMKsyFQv.97

I went shopping yesterday, will cook and prepare food today, and then I am fasting tomorrow! Ah well, hooray for fridges! And yes, I am looking forward to my fast day!

Cheers everyone!

Sarah57, I weigh every day, first thing in the morning after a wee and before eating and record it.
I have been through periods of keeping a food diary as well to see what foods caused a weight gain. As per usual it was the processed carbs and sugar (usually in the form of wine😊).

A 1.5kg fluctuation over the weekend is quite normal for me and usually takes me to trigger point, or pretty close, by Monday which is FD. Even if I’m under trigger I still fast Monday for the health benefits.

Monday to Friday I eat within my TDEE but go over on the weekend which accounts for the gain.

I’ve also realised (through some wise people on here pointing it out) that it can take a while for the “food” to show up on the scales either as a loss or gain depending on wether youve Eaten or reduced carb intake.

Sounds like you are going really well, keep it up!

Purple, interesting article on diabetes you posted. Answers my question about fruit!

I was also surprised to see the results on cheese (Hermaj), choosing ricotta and cottage because they were low fat which has been quite the wrong thing to do.

Carol, my idea of weighing has been morning after the second fast only, post wee (trying really hard!), pre tea and definitely without nightie no matter how cold I am. It is reassuring to know a maintainer is happy to fluctuate by 3lbs. I have a way to go but am utterly determined to get to proper weight for the first time in my adult life! What was I waiting for? I have no idea…..

Weird – I’m trying to convince myself it’s time to break my fast (nearly midday here) and the thought doesn’t appeal! First time that has happened. And I discovered the metallic taste in my mouth at odd times over the last month or two wasn’t tannin from too much wine (trying hard, though 🙂 ) but ketones from fat-burning. Yay!

Sarah, you can do it – I was always a fat child, plump adult. With 5:2 I am the lightest I have been in my adult life – and know I can maintain it!

Thanks for the tea weight, Happy. When I sneak out of bed when OH sleeps in (no such luck as a cuppa in bed) and get a cup for myself, I have been deducting 200gm. Will upgrade my thinking.

I started a sourdough yesterday (named Popsy – first one was Topsy), and already bubbles appearing this morning.

Very interesting to read about everyone’s new year progress and methods. I put on three pounds but have got rid of two of them and am finding fasting easy, especially as the weather in London is mild. Sugar addiction definitely got hold again but once the Medjool dates are finished I’ll be back to the odd tangerine.

Well maybe what they say about starving a cold works – I am starting to feel a bit more human now……..my nasty sore throat/cold is feeling a bit better and my hamstring/Baker’s Cyst injury is also feeling less painful BUT I am missing my exercise of walking and yoga……

Today is my second B2B FD in a row – yesterday was no breakfast, 500cal lunch and water or tea with a splash of skimmed milk until supper tonight – planning a 500cal chicken and vegetable soup this evening and continuing on water and tea until tomorrow sometime – will see how I feel.

Feeling back on track after the weekend where I went a AWOL with drink and food – no alcohol intake planned this week until the weekend………

@hermajtomomi – I’m very happily retired – took early retirement 3 years ago and relocated to the Cumbria – used to spend so many happy holidays here and as the OH loves fell running – this was our idea of heaven – no regrets. Neither OH and I have any allergies but we are both keen foodies but the
OH is into very healthy eating – he does not eat any meat but loves vegetarian food and fish/seafood; I’m a bit more into moderation and eat meat about once/twice a month.

@happynow – I don’t run but love fell walking and Yoga/Pilates and I do love living here – since retiring and moving here I feel like I’m holidays all the time – so lucky

I’m with the idea of weighing on waking – visit to the loo first then step on the scales with no clothes and always weigh after my second FD of the week.

Hi Cinque,

I’m a bit more relaxed about the calories now on a fast day, but I save them for a normal-ish evening meal rather than splitting them.

Polly,

Perhaps you could be similarly not precious, and pass on any tasty tapas recipes you acquire…?!

AT,

Glad you’re feeling better. I’m obviously shockingly ignorant, I’m going to have to google Baker’s cyst…

Hi, I’m going to buy my first Mimi spencer cookbook. I see two versions- 2014 and 2013 (don’t quote me on those dates).
Is there a version that’s better those of you who have one?

Thanks so much for your replies Happy, Purple and Carol. It helps so much with weighing up the choices! Today I did have my light salad around 2pm, and I will have my soup soon (it’s after 6pm here). It has felt like a good fast day, but I need to just journey along a bit and see.

I’m getting to the stage where I am starting to fantasize about what I might eat tomorrow morning. Mmmm Welsh Rarebit would be yummy!…

We were too busy to get any recipes last night, Happy! Sorry. And I was tempted and took three fishes, none on which I finished, either.

Folks, I’m surprised to hear so much about maintenance fast days. Are you mostly doing 6:1 now? PVE, is it once a week that you do a 24 fast? I seem to be losing a little bit still, but want to help OH lose another stone.

AT, what is a ‘baker’s cyst’, please?

Although I didn’t finish any dish last night, I still felt uncomfortable all night. I had affogato with Tia Maria to finish. I’m wondering if it was the sugar, as I has the same uncomfortable feeling last week after a small pudding.

Glad to hear the weather is a bit more comfortable for you, PVE.

Pol. 💁🏼

Sounds good, PVE. I felt bloated this morning and was convinced that my girth was bigger, but thankfully not.

Mimi’s new book arrived. Very timely as its small enough to take with us and is more about traditional meals. Carol, I’d suggest the 2013 book to begin with – loads of brilliant recipes and truly our bible.

It’s awards season again, folks – Golden Globes, Baftas, Oscars – so I’m about to nominate myself for the award of 5:2 Birdbrain of the Year 2017.

I began my new regime – the 5:2-style BSD-lite combined with a 24-hour fast – on Monday. Got through the 24 hours from dinner to dinner with relative ease. Found a couple of veggie recipes in the excellent BSD cookbook, one a main, one a side, together totalling 590 calories, which I cooked and served with a dollop of Greek yoghurt.

What, like an idiot, I failed to recognise was the fact that even though there wasn’t a refined carb to be seen and the calorie count was well clear of the 800 cal limit there is still such a thing as too much. Not helped, of course, by Him Indoors who hates to see food wasted – I don’t know if he still thinks about the starving refugees as we were told to as kids as we pushed overcooked greens or soggy semolina round and round our plates.

Result, feeling totally bloated and as sick as a pig, I went to bed, lay awake most of the night, wondering if I would throw up. I didn’t, in fact, but with no deadlines to meet, I spent most of Tuesday day in bed, catching up on some of the lost sleep and finally finding room for a carb-free omelette in the evening.

So two 24-hour FDs back to back, but not altogether for the best of reasons. I cancelled a much looked-forward-to day out today but as the day has worn on, I’ve started to feel a little bit better and have even been out to walk and shop. And I’ve been much more careful about quantities.

The good news is that the 2 (or it might have been 3) kilos, put on over Christmas and in the following weeks as assorted naughties were finished, have all gone. I have also learned my lesson. Low-carb, low-ish cal it may be but you can still overdo it.

P, I love the sound of your Welsh Rarebit, which sounds like the real deal, not the boring cheese on toast that sometimes goes by the same name. I’ll bear it in mind for a non-FD (although probably not this week) with some really good home-baked bread.

Oh, and Bay! (I know you’re lurking somewhere…)

I’m just reading Gut. Fascinating stuff, so much I didn’t know.

And talking of missing maintainers, where’s Fast?

Thanks, Happy and Cinque.

This wasn’t altogether a new experience. It’s usually a case of poor judgment rather than real greed.

I’ve always said that the digestive discomfort after overdoing things is a good thing, insofar that unless you really ARE a bird brain, you won’t be doing it again any time soon.

Oh, dear, poor you, Herm! 😁😁😁! It is so hard to leave food on the plate, isn’t it, especially when it’s delicious. That’s what led to our trouble.

AT, I love your quote, it could be the motto for the 5:2 plan. I wonder why a Baker’s cyst should be on any part of the leg. I have a similar swelling on my ankle. Strangely, my GP thinks it might be caused by some pressure around my groin and has sent me for a scan.

Our son rang last night, asking us to get him a British Lions hoddie! As well as all the little jobs and packing, we now have to shoot off to find said blooming garment! I have to wait for the post to arrive as my new Saga credit card has not come, whilst OH’s came on Tuesday.

Pol 💁🏼

Hi, fast! Hope all goes well tomorrow.

Warm and cosy in Premier Inn, Manchester airport, ready for flight to the USA tomorrow.

Pol 💁🏼

Bon voyage, Pol. 🙂

Thanks, Herm and Happy. Just managed to get the second Aran done! We watched a good film on Friday (Unbroken) and was able to knit the hood like the clappers, not the full Aran works. Sewed up and hood border on Saturday, buttons Sunday. Ended up hard work instead of a leisurely activity thanks to my fall.

Hi, bcj. My initial experience was the same – lost the stomach, but amazingly thighs, too. Good luck with it. The easiest way to eat ever, though.

Pol 🙋🏼. Xx

Did not post yesterday as had a bit of a relapse and was feeling really rubbish, ending up spending most of the day in bed – did not eat anything until after 5pm yesterday but then was on a bit of a never ending grazing session………
Still not feeling too bright this morning was thinking of doing a FD but not sure if I’m up for it – however weigh day is tomorrow so may try for a FD – nothing to eat so far today………

Been trying to do some yoga whilst limiting anything that might strain my left thigh – concentrating on some breathing techniques and meditation to help improve my mental wellbeing as I’m feeling rather low, which is so not me – Helen Keller said “Keep you face to the sunshine and you cannot see a shadow”

@pollypenny – safe travels and enjoy
@hermajtomomi – re your post 11/1 – We’ve all been there and totally understand – and to the cheese issue I’m with ricotta definitely not cottage cheese!

@bcjmmac – well done you – on your FDs or even your NFDs try doing 16:8 days – i.e – where you fast for 16hrs and eat in an 8hr window – e.g. fast after your evening meal, say from 2000hrs and “break your fast” after 1200hrs the next day
The intermittent fasting diet takes advantage of, and expands upon, the 10–12 hours you normally fast while sleeping. By morning, your body is beginning to deplete the glycogen in your liver (from the carbohydrates eaten at your evening meal) and is starting to rely more on fat for energy. As your glycogen stores are progressively exhausted, your liver starts converting fat into ketones, which the brain and other tissues use as fuel. This fat-burning state is called ketosis.
Aerobic exercise (20–45 minutes of moderate aerobic exercise—walking, jogging, cycling or whatever you enjoy doing) while in the intermittent fasting state is a crucial part of the program because it rapidly puts you into ketosis. Overnight fasting is a start, but exercise really kicks things into high gear. The fuel used during the morning walk you’re taking in place of eating breakfast comes from burning fat, which is exactly what you want when you’re trying to lose weight. Even better, if you continue fasting after exercising, you will stay in the ketotic state, further reducing fat stores.
Hope the above is helpful………

Hi AT:

Your timing for ketosis is a bit off. The body will burn fat whenever it experiences a calorie deficit. But it does not get into ketosis literally for days. The progression that the body follows if nothing at all is eaten is first, blood glucose from its last meal – about 6 hours. Second, glycogen from the liver/muscles – about 24 to 48 hours. Third, and this is the one most people don’t know about – protein from muscle. The normal body will finally get into ketosis in about 3 to 4 days, but will take up to 14 days to start getting most of its energy from fat. This is explained a bit more on page 7, the 6 Dec. 15 post on this thread: https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/the-basics-for-newbies-your-questions-answered/ The body is using glycogen from the liver and muscles when you exercise in the morning, and if you replace the calories used by the exercise you won’t lose any weight at all, although you might build a bit of muscle.

Good Luck!

Hi Scuba/Louise
Well done on the Diabetes reversal. My husband went from an insulin dependent Type 2 diabetic, of many years, to drug free, steady good blood sugar levels after he started 5:2 in April 2013.
He still fasts twice a week, eats a low carb full fat diet including plenty of fish and leafy veg, tests his blood sugar every morning and, if slightly elevated, skips breakfast, even if it is an eating day.
The 32kg he lost allows him to be active, but it is definitely the regular fasts and reduced carbs that keeps his T2D at bay.
All the best with your maintenance journey
There’s no looking back now! 😊😊PVE

I think I really have learned my lesson after the Monday-Teusday debacle. 3rd 24-hour job this week! Pauses to watch a pig fly past the window. What is the world coming to?

Using a recipe from the BSD cookbook, we had beef goulash accompanied by a small serving of quinoa and some Brussels sprouts. Quite modest but extremely filling. One or maybe two cups of redbush and that will be my lot.

P and Happy, I’ve been on Vitamin D3 for a couple of years now.. Can’t quite recall whose advice I followed – my acupuncturist friend, maybe. Anything to fight dementia. I’m starting to forget the odd word mid-sentence and am not sure where the odd senior moment ends and the slippery slope towards terminally bonkers begins. Too many intellectual balls in the air at once is my excuse, but could I really be losing it?

Hope you’re feeling a bit better now, AT. Feeling rubbish isn’t fun.

Hi simcoeluv

Thank you for your reply and whilst I don’t disagree with you ketosis is not a black and white thing.

I got my information from my personal medical knowledge and reading various research including Dr Fung and Dr Mosley’s personal experience and thoughts on the subject

Medically speaking getting into ketosis is not a black or white thing. It’s not like you’re either in ketosis, or out of ketosis. Instead, you can be in different degrees of ketosis.

-Below 0.5 mmol/L is not considered “ketosis”. Although a value of, say, 0.2 demonstrates that you’re getting close. At this level you’re still far away from maximum fat-burning.
-Between 0.5 – 1.5 mmol/L is light nutritional ketosis. You’ll be getting a good effect on your weight, but perhaps not optimal.
-Around 1.5 – 3 mmol/L is called optimal ketosis and is recommended for maximum mental and physical performance gains. It also maximizes fat burning, which can increase weight loss.
-Values of over 3 mmol/L aren’t necessary. That is, they will achieve neither better nor worse results than being at the 1.5 – 3 level. Higher values can also sometimes mean that you’re not getting enough food (“starvation ketosis”).

I hope that clarifies what I was trying to say without getting too technical

AT, I do tai chi for two hours once a week, some walking, but not much. I’ve lost 7 inches from my waist and two stone. Whilst exercise is beneficial, it’s not crucial to 5:2 and I think many people, older ones maybe, would be put off by a stress on exercise.

Herm, everyone I know forgets words mid Sentence! Lots to think about and multi-tasking!

Carol,Mimi’s book is great,,eh? We’ve brought the new one with us to the USA, where we are comfortably ensconced, waiting for them to come home from work and crèche.

Welcome Scuba/Louise!

Ooops, it was curioser who wrote about Mimi’s book, not Carol. (On 60s thread)