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The Maintenance Chatbox… come and share your success with us!

This topic contains 11,627 replies, has 174 voices, and was last updated by  hermajtomomi 6 months ago.

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  • Well I’ve got rid of Xmas!

    I fasted once this week, did a couple of HIIT workouts, avoided added sugar and refined carbs, and finished the week 0.6kg lighter.

    Might treat myself to a biscuit this weekend 😁

    Morning, everyone. I last ate at midday Eastern USA time,,it’s now 7.30 am. I haven’t eaten anything, no appetite.

    Daughter-in-law kindly came home with orange juice and Raisin Bran especially for us, as they’re what we used to have. Will have to have some of both. I just want some porridge.

    It’s very mild here.

    Well done Happy.
    Hope you get that porridge Polly.
    I’m finding I’m eating so little with the heat and visitors, I don’t need to fast or even think about skipping meals…it’s happening anyway! Sitting at a nice comfortable weight.
    So there is the answer. Temps up in the 30s and high 20s even at night and lots of grandkids to look after and you don’t think about feeding yourself. P 😊😊

    My body is permanently on Eastern Standard Time, Pol. In the UK it amounts to Delayed Sleep Syndrome (finding it hard to fall asleep until about 4 a.m. and awaken before noon), usually associated with stroppy teens. For me it’s less than a problem than it might be because in my job as long as I deliver on time, no one cares when or in what attire I do it. Not so good when I had to go out to work, especially teaching. I would just about get there on time, but not yet having spoken since the previous night I would sometimes emit grunting sounds rather than intelligible speech, a major source of amusement to my unfortunate pupils.

    Never had the same problem in the US of A. Maybe I should emigrate. On second thoughts not with Him With the Silly Hair about to take over. How many of us are hoping he screws up mightily and has to run for cover before returning to his dubious reality TV shows, the sooner the better?

    I’ve just switched to digital scales which show the weight in metric in nice big numbers rather than the teeny-weeny characters showing both imperial and metric on the bathroom scale which I can only read with my distance glasses and then not all that clearly. Of course, one or both of them could be telling porkies.

    The digital ones show 62.7 kilos (9st 12lbs) which considering I started at somewhere between 84 and 85 (I can’t bear to look at the imperial equivalent) is pretty encouraging even if slightly inaccurate and still too much for a shorty of 5ft 1in (155 cm). The other one shows about 10st3lb (65kilos). I think I’ll stick with the digital ones. In any case, even if I’m kidding myself it’s increases and decreases that matter, but it makes me feel good. πŸ™‚

    Hermaj,

    I’d definitely believe the digital scales!

    Whichever are right, you’re not a bad weight anyway. To ‘listen to you talking’, anyone would think you were a porker, which you’re clearly not πŸ˜€

    Thanks for your good advice and kind words, Happy. No, I’m no longer a porker but pre-5:2 I most certainly was.

    Not entirely my fault, I hasten to add. The quack kept me on steroids for 2 1/2 years for polymyalgia rheumatica which had long since disappeared. These not only screwed up my immune system and gave me shingles, mostly on the face and dangerously close to the eyes. Already a lot overweight, I also gained considerable amounts of flab – inflating to size 20 – and the characteristic big steroid moon-face with little piggy eyes. That’s how I looked when I married Him Indoors, which is why I deleted all our wedding photos. Only one survives and stands on the sideboard of the Frau Obergrueppenfuehrer (the mother-in-law) who doesn’t altogether approve of me and seems to delight in letting visitors see the fat, ugly woman her son married.

    As soon as I came off the steroids I dropped a couple of kilos without even trying. Then 5:2 came along and the rest is history. It’s been a long, slow process, but the goal is now in sight.

    While I’m on, can you, Happy, or indeed anyone else give me some idea of the GI of couscous? I’m prepared for it to be an occasional treat, but it would be useful to know just how occasional it needs to be.

    Hi Hermaj,

    According to the following link, couscous is GI 65, but GL per serving is 9. For comparison, white rice is similar GI but GL 29. So a far healthier choice!

    http://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/glycemic_index_and_glycemic_load_for_100_foods

    Oh, Herm, steroids are horrendous for weight gain! One of my friends similarly inflated on them. However, her face looks years younger than 70. 10.3 is not a bad weight at all. We have couscous. We had it at least once a week in summer, with Mimi’s marinated tofu recipe and a crunchy salad. Needing comfort food now though.

    I think I went too long yesterday, including the time difference, so I’ve been dreadful today – it’s just 1.30 here. I had porridge, but at about noon I had two rounds of toast with butter. White bread, too!

    Boys back now. On duty!

    Pol. πŸ’πŸΌ

    Hello

    A lovely sunny if cold day here in cumbria – certainly makes you feel better – my nasty cold seems to be on the mend but unfortunately my hamstring is still not very happy…….

    What an inspiring group this is and thank you for sharing so much – I have been fascinated by the posts looking at incorporating low carbohydrate in the 5:2 WOL, so much that it has set me off exploring this aspect a bit more.
    OH and I already eat mostly spelt pasta, brown/wild rice at home. Very little bread for me – the odd slice of the OH’s homemade spelt flour, nut and fruit loaf, usually when it is fresh out of the oven!!!! And very little in the way of refined carbohydrates at home but we both like going out for a slice of cake once or twice a week with a coffee!
    I have started to cut back on pasta, using courgetti instead and have found that very satisfying. I still love a bit of rice with a curry or in a paella/risotto……but my portion sizes have certainly decreased hugely with this WOL. But reducing refined carbs further is definitely something that I will explore a bit more.

    @pollypenny – I agree that exercise is not crucial to this WOL and I certainly would not want to alienate anyone by stressing on the exercise element but I would imagine that most people find that as they lose weight, they have much more energy and would find that a brisk 20-30minute walk in the sunshine or any other form of moderate exercise improves both physical and mental well being.

    Weigh in today = 0.5kg above ideal weight (BMI 20.6) – gained 0.7kg since last weigh in but I’m OK with that – no exercise and feeling rubbish with a nasty cold and hamstring strain injury all week!
    I have allowed myself a 1kg wriggle room either side of my target weight and I have promised myself that I will not lose sight of this target but much more important is the feeling of mental and physical well being that I gained and continue to gain from this WOL – β€œI will not let a bad day turn into a bad week!”

    Hi AT,

    The high fells looked stunning today, and our lanes were toboggan runs this morning. Thank god for winter tyres!

    My OH is completely unreconstructed. He’s not big on puddings or cake, but has sugar in tea and coffee, and will eat only white sliced! His diet is probably only healthy because I do 99% of the cooking! Funnily enough though, he is a natural intermittent faster and just has days every now and then when he isn’t hungry and so just doesn’t eat. In the days when I was stuffing myself I used to worry, but now I let him get on with it! However, having no problem maintaining his weight means he has no interest in healthy eating, dieting, formal fasting, etc.. So I’ve been on my own, trying to find how to maintain my weight while frequently feeding him something else (a side order of bread!). I’m not really aiming to be proper low carb, but still trying to find the balance!

    Re: weight. I set myself an upper weight limit of 60kg. If I’m over/approaching, I get stricter. If I’m a kg lower I’m a bit more relaxed. I guess I’m mostly maintaining within a 1.5-2kg window.

    Re: the bakers cyst. What’s your recovery time? And will it reoccur?

    I’m with Happy, Hermaj – stick with the digital scales. They give such a nice clear reading, too. Well done on nearly reaching goal.

    I have put on the first loaf of the new batch of sourdough this morning. It didn’t rise very well (I think I was a bit slapdash in the preparation) so it has been in the airing cupboard for an extra 24 hours. Smells good, anyway πŸ™‚

    It is a pleasure to think of you surrounded by the grandchildren, P. Our grandson has been safely airmailed back to Sydney. I am sitting looking out at the rain – good to have some, and it’s supposed to clear later in the day for a barbeque, but oh, where is our summer? Back to work tomorrow, feeling like I have not really rested what with dashes across the Ditch and hosting an eight-year-old. And 2016 was so hard.

    At least you got the porridge, Pol!

    …and you can get wholegrain couscous in Tesco, herm – even lower GI!

    Happy, you have my undying admiration. My OH – as you all know! – has his moments of spectacular piggery, but on the whole we’ve shared this 5:2 experience and supported one another – except that he has always insisted on the extra 100 calls allowed to a bloke! I think I could have done it alone, but def not if I’d been living with a refusenik, so respect to you!

    AT, we find it works well to designate one day a week as ‘feast day’ when cake etc are allowed, nay encouraged, as psychological support and metabolic kickstart. I know others on this thread relax at weekends: we occasionally have Sunday as an additional feast day, but it depends on where we both are in weight range, and we’re actually finding we’re less and less bothered about things which used to be treats.

    Thank you all for good wishes. I’m home – bit spaced out, with a big bag of painkillers and minus another inch of bowel, but it’s all uphill from here. Hopefully my inner Duracell Bunny will be back by Easter!!

    Glad to hear the op went well and you’re on the mend, Fast. Take care.

    AT, a walk is lovely in all weathers apart from rain, I suppose. And we do enjoy it more when fitter. However, you did tell bcj that exercise is ‘crucial’. Thankfully, while all exercise is beneficial and might might boost and hasten the effects of fasting, it’s far from crucial to the diet.

    Happy, it must be really hard to live with someone who can eat whatever he fancies! Good on you to have stuck to it. Thankfully, we have done it together. OH was the overweight one, who fed me up to make him feel less guilty! 😯 Trouble is, he’s such a damn good cook.

    Snow started here now. Just seen a family of six deer in the ‘yard’.

    Pol. 🐺

    First of all, thank you, Happy and Fast, for the info re couscous. I guess GL is more significant than GI. As I understand it, if something with a high or high-ish GI is normally only eaten in relatively small quantities (I seem to remember carrots being used an example) the GL can be quite low and therefore permissible as part ofr low-carb WOE.

    Thanks for the sympathy re steroids, Pol. One other thing I share with your friend and possibly with many mature ladies who tend to be a bit bonny – a very good, relatively wrinkle-free skin that wouldn’t look too bad on someone 10 or 15 years younger. All I do is keep it clean and keep it moisterised. You wouldn’t catch me anywhere near Botox. It might hurt and I’m a terrible wuss. Also I don’t want to be one of those women who are so botoxed that they pull their knickers up every time they smile. BTW, where exactly are you in the USA?

    And thanks for the encouragement, Barata. MY OH is also a home baker and he’s currently experimenting with a recipe from the BSD cookbook and using a “cheat’s sourdough” discovered online, since he used up his “friend in the fridge” before Christmas. I’ve got the bit between my teeth with my new regime and am being a little bit fundamentalist. However, despite a certain amount of sighing and eye-rolling, Sir is trying to help. No need to be too grateful, though. He loves experimenting, after all he was trained as a chemist.

    Fast, just like you and Mr Fast, we are getting less and less bothered about treats. Despite not being very fond of most of the Christmas goodies but loving Stollen and panettone, of which I scarfed some unfeasible large portions and (probably deservedly) suffered for it, if someone were to offer me even a small taste of either, I would now politely refuse. I’m so glad you are safely home, hopefully you won’t need too many painkillers. Take it easy, let Monsieur spoil you rotten, and get well soon.

    Hi All, just watched the first disk of extended Fellowship of the Rings.., now back in the room!

    Polly/RT, re: exercise being crucial. I know exercise contributes little to weight loss, but for me it’s everything to mental wellbeing. And you’ve got to be in the right head space to achieve anything,,,!?

    Fast, glad to hear you’re home safe, albeit a bit shorter!

    Interesting that you jointly designate a feast day. It makes me realise that I have perhaps been subconsciously trying to designate a joint feast day at the weekend…The only problem being that OH isn’t on board! So while I’m offering him homemade treats (OK. to justify me having them!), he doesn’t want them because he’s not consciously fasting and hasn’t got a sweet tooth and he doesn’t understand my need because he’s oblivious to the fact that I’m intermittent fasting. So perhaps although he doesn’t support me fasting, he does help by not giving me a reason to make biscuits at the weekend!

    Barata I do love bread, and I have to admit to liking raw dough…and even doughy bread. So your maybe dense sourdough sounds yummy πŸ˜€

    Mmmm, had the first slice and thought it was a bit… sour. Took a minute or so for the penny to drop πŸ™‚ OH likes it, and I will have a bit more for lunch.

    I hope the recovery is fast, Fast – sorry, couldn’t resist. πŸ™‚

    Happy, on the basis of LOR will you be booking a holiday to Middle Earth (NZ)? Enjoy.

    Barata,

    We have relatives in Middle Earth! OH has been, several years ago…i should have been with him but back injury/surgery thwarted that plan! I definitely want to visit, but we have trapped ourselves at present with animals/lifestyle and it’s difficult to get away together for a weekend let alone a month!

    Understand. πŸ™ Wasn’t there a plan for a Melbourne gathering for your 60th? We could hang onto that idea. Where is Tessy?

    Yes, I thought a fasting spa break for my 60th!

    Tessy left us, her poor health/work/fasting was all too much for her and she didn’t feel she could continue contributing. I often think about her and wonder how she’s doing.

    Happy, nice to bump into you on that other thread and thanks for your kind words. Your comments amused me. Good to learn that you dropped your Christmas excess and are back in the wriggle room zone.

    The regulars of this thread are doing a fine job of keeping the maintenance flag flying. I don’t have much to contribute by way of maintenance. I just plod along with 5:2 and remain between 59-61kg. Loving the IF lifestyle and its benefits. Sadly, improved brain acuity doesn’t appear to be among them.

    Hermaj, some neighbours introduced us to stollen when we had them round for a BBQ before Christmas with a German couple. The German announced (a bit too openly I thought) that he’d never liked it and I quietly avoided it as I thought it looked stodgy and unappetising. While cleaning up in the small hours though, I sneaked a taste and found it surprisingly good.

    Happy New Year maintainers!

    Hi Thin, unfortunately I have to agree about brain acuity – missed me too πŸ™ I’m getting the other benefits, too, but want the scales to say 58 – they are currently 59 so mustn’t grumble…

    Yes, I wonder about Tessy too, she was fighting such an uphill battle.

    I was forced to toast the last 2 pieces of stollen the other day. I’m no sweet tooth, but it was SO worth it.
    Re exercise. ..I definitely find a good brisk walk gives me a mental lift. This hot weather and houseguests has meant very limited situations to do it. I don’t count running a household for 14 people exercise. πŸ˜‘πŸ˜‘
    P

    Good grief P! I hope you’ve had plenty of help! How long have you got the houseful for?

    We are down to 7 this week. As the hostess, I inevitability end up on my feet most of the time as someone always needs something or basic tasks need to be done. Great weightloss program though as I have no time to eat 😊😊 I am missing my simple fish and salad though. It’ll teach me to have a large family. πŸ˜‰πŸ˜‰P

    After all the fuss about scales. It’s all gone pear-shaped and I’m still apple shaped and, according to both scales, which both show I’m 4 kilos heavier than yesterday, having regained the post-Christmas weight, plus one more for luck. And no, I haven’t had a major blow-out.

    My OH tells me it’s all to do with floor surfaces, whether carpeted or not, whether even or not. Yesterday’s triumphant digital weigh-in was on a carpeted floor which, Sir now tells me, is uneven under the carpet (can’t say I’ve ever noticed but I’m not big on noticing stuff). The others, weighing me at a just about acceptable but still excessive weight were on lino.

    I wondered why the hell I’m bothering. Three 24-hour fasts this week and great care taken on NF days, which hasn’t been that difficult as I’ve gone right off all the carby stuff and can no longer put a way large quantities of anything, carb or not, without bitterly regretting it.

    I see another plateau looming. Or maybe the m-i-l is keeping that picture of the bride on steroids to eventually welcome me back to the land of the obscenely fat. Sorry, mates. I’m very, very angry and very sorry for myself. Must go and punch a few pillows accompanied by some very creative swearing.

    He’s right…scales are very fussy.
    Don’t despair though. The weight loss can take days to show. You’ll be right Herm. 😊😊 P

    Try shifting them 2″ to the right, herm – we have no carpets, just laminate, but even that small a shift can produce a different result….and swear away – the effort will use a few calories…
    Seriously, P’s right: the loss from your FDs may take several days to show up, so don’t despair – or undo them in the meantime with angry face-stuffing! You’ve got over bigger humps in the past – you can do it – go, woman!!

    Starting to feel a bit better – my nasty sore throat and cold are definitely on the mend – shame I can’t say the same about my leg…….
    Had a rather overindulgent 3 day weekend and am so looking forward to doing a fast day tomorrow……

    @pollypenny – apologies for the confusion with my post – I know that exercise is not essential to the 5:2 WOL and apologies if I confused you @bcjmmac. You will lose weight by following the 5:2 WOL – I did!
    Like others who have been following this WOL for some time I became interested on how it all works and read other expert’s work and I was quoting another expert who believes that if you include moderate exercise whilst fasting it will rapidly puts you into ketosis and if you continue fasting after exercising, you will stay in the ketotic state, further reducing fat stores. But perhaps this is for further down your 5:2WOL path……or not at all………

    @happynow – no snow in my area but there certainly was on the higher fells – a bit wet today though!!!!! As time has gone by I believe that the problem with my leg is more likely to be a hamstring strain – I don’t think it was my Baker’s cyst – I have decided if things are not much better next week I’ll have a physio review.
    Like you I’m not really aiming to be proper low carb, but still trying to find the balance!
    Re Weight – my upper limit is 56 kg – I have been sitting between 54.3 and 55.5kg since beginning of December!
    My OH does not follow this WOL but he is very supportive and fully understands why I do and he has seen how well it has worked for me. He is one of those amazingly fit and lean people who exercises hard but also eats healthily and has stopped drinking alcohol some 10 years ago – his only vice is cake!!!!! we both enjoy going out for a coffee and he always has cake/scones with his, whilst I limit myself to a small serve once or twice a week at most. I love baking and do make cakes for a group that I volunteer at and I’m glad to say the cakes are greatly appreciated there!

    @fastfastslow – sorry to hear about your recent surgery – all the best for your recovery

    Went to see a live telecast of Romeo and Juliet from La Scala Milan this afternoon – perfect way to spend a wet afternoon – Misty Copeland danced Juliet and Roberto Bello Romeo – They are brilliant together

    How come we are already 1/2 way into January………..

    P and Fast,

    Thanks for your encouraging words.

    I appreciate that the effects of the fast days may not show for a few days delayed, but putting on 4 kilos overnight is a bit much. Brings back memories of putting on a stone (14lbs/6.5 kilos) in four days, during a high summer visit to Portugal when it was too darned hot to eat much at all. I was 28 and on the flight back to Spain where I was working, the immigration guy thought that I was the mother of the 16-year-old who had sat next to me on the plane. I seem to remember that somehow I shed the lot very, very quickly, can’t remember exactly how.

    Rest assured, there’s no danger of me stuffing, however angry I get. Firstly, I can’t do it any more with paying dearly, and, secondly, I’ve never been a comfort eater, even at my fattest.

    @hermajtomomi – I just saw your post re the scales – your OH is correct – scales should be placed on a hard surface to get an accurate reading!
    But don’t despair as others have said we all know how fickle weight loss is – sometimes it seems to take days to register a loss or a gain – punching pillows is good – always makes me feel better xx

    Hermaj,

    Ah, the joy of scales! Hopefully once you’ve calmed down you’ll realise you haven’t gained 4kg, you’re just getting different readings from different placement of scales. I had a similar nightmare with mine! I first got them, long before 5:2,so I could monitor a cat’s weight. It took me a long while to find a suitably stable flat bit of floor to get a consistent reading!

    And yes, please be patient re: the weight! Your body has got to adjust to the new regime. Give it a month before deciding whether it works or not.

    Thanks, AT and Happy. I guess what pisses me off isn’t so much regaining 4 kilos but not having lost hem in the first place – especially the Christmas flab. As I said before, I could see another plateau looming.

    The scales, which it turns out register within a kilo of each other, have now been taken out of the bathroom to the kitchen-diner with the laminate floor. This does mean, of course, that there will be no frosted glass to shield the neighbours from my chubby little bod, which could cause alarm and despondency, but that’s their problem. πŸ™‚

    Hermaj,

    Can I suggest you weigh your clothes/ dressing gown, then when you weigh yourself clothed you can subtract the clothes’ weight? No need to traumatise you or the neighbours! My winter wear, plus sheepskin house boots, is roughly 1.2kg… 😊

    Happy, you spoilsport! The neighbours might delight in a ‘chubby little bod’ – and herm might even enjoy showing it off, since it’s so much svelter than before…No, herm? Oh, sorry!

    Evening all, the thread has zoomed on, while I’ve had an exhausting day with the boys! They crept into our room ‘to surprise’ us at 6.30am. Four in a double bed did not last long so I got up with them.

    Our son and wife are taking advantage of our presence to have some time to themselves, so it’s been a loooong day – Playdo, Snakes and Ladders, balloon fights and being chased by monsters – finished with baths and story time has left me flat out on sofa with wine. Food has been awful. I tried the Raisin Bran, which I did used to eat. Yuck, so sweet.

    I’m hoping a normal week, with boys in crΓ¨che and parents at work, will put me back on strategy.

    I’m in Princeton, New Jersey, Herm.
    Pol. 🍷

    Same here Poll! 😟

    Hermaj I had the same problem with my scales last week. Did my normal FD, lost the usual amount, was still low the next day and then the day after did a 16:8 fast. Hopped,on the scales the next morning and was 1.3kg heavier!!!

    I was so disgusted I didn’t bother weighing for 3 days! I also went online to read up calibrating scales etc and although my scales are on my bathroom tiles I have found they are not consistent in the weighing.

    According to Google to test them properly you need to put about 20kg of something on there. Well I don’t have 20kg and couldn’t lift it anyway, so I was testing mine with 5kg and 4/5 readings the same but not 100%.

    Not really sure what to do now. 😳

    Happy, I’ve tried the weighing clothes trick before, e.g. after having to weigh fully clad at the quack’s. Haven’t done that for a while, I keep well away. Not easy as everything but undies and socks just fall off, even if everything is weighed separately. Carolann, I don’t have anything weighing 20 kilos, unless I kidnap a toddler or pack a large suitcase, which to be honest I can’t be bothered with.

    You’re right, Fast. Now resembling one of those chubby little cherubs seen in Baroque paintings – although most of them are fellas so I don’t have the same accoutrements – I’m far less bothered about being seen in the buff. Also the way our windows point, only one set of neighbours is likely to see let alone care. They are at least 150 years away and theirs is a chalet bungalow with two gardens in between them and us, while I and the scales are on the second floor.

    Hi Herm,

    I found out the weight of my standard ‘working at home’ clothes by weighing myself with and without them. Mostly I just weigh in vest and pants, but the scales are in the spare bathroom (floor is flatter than ours!) and if it’s really cold I get dressed first…

    I don’t know how accurate my scales are, but used in the same place they consistently give the same reading, so they are at least reliable enough for trend measurement.

    Polly and Purple,

    I’m worn out just thinking about running round after little ones all day! You both deserve a large glass of wine in the evening 😁

    He he…had one while we picnicked in the park with 5 grandkids played, Happy. Beautiful cool evening. P 😊

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    Good idea, Happy. Why didn’t I think of that? Because sometimes I’m a bear of very little brain, that’s why. πŸ™‚

    After an overindulgent 3-day weekend I had a good FD today – water and tea only until a bowl of homemade vegetable soup with lentils and added Kale tonight coming in at around 250cals – feeling full and happy with today. Will try to stay on water/tea only until tomorrow evening and will continue with a FD again if feeling good – will see how things go.

    I am feeling so much better in myself but not my leg unfortunately – I think I will ring tomorrow to see if I can get a physio assessment done this week…….

    Hope everyone is having a good day – take care – my positive quote for today was “Your only limit is you”

    As if to counteract all the whingeing about scales, I can share another highly gratifying and completely unexpected result of intermittent fasting.

    I went to the optician today for the annual check-up offered to old buggers like me. Just recently, my glasses hadn’t been doing a very good job and typefaces in books and on the Kindle and words on the computer screen were becoming blurry. Of course, I thought it was another sign that the poor old biddy was getting past it and was starting to imagine the sheer misery of life without decent eyesight. All the blood, sweat and tears of getting an Art History degree but you can’t see the art any more.

    I knew I’d need a new prescription. Which I did. BUT would you believe, my vision has actually improved and what I need is a WEAKER lens in the right eye of both my reading and distance glasses. The left (weaker) eye can carry on with the same prescription as before – which also saves quite alot of dosh but that’s beside the point. This would seem to be the result of IF and the reduction in BP, blood glucose, etc. that comes with it. Has anyone else had the same encouraging experience?

    My gosh Hermaj that is a fantastic outcome! I was very pleased when my LDL levels came down but Improved eyesight!!! Whoo hoo!!

    Hi Purple, I thought of you last night while watching an episode of BBC1’s “How To Stay Young”. The presenters were investigating why the people from the island of Okinawa off Japan, live longer than people from anywhere else in the world and far fewer elderly suffer dementia. Scientists from Norwich believe that anthocyanin widely consumed in the Okinawan Sweet Potato or yam may hold the key. Anthocyanin is of course the antioxidant present in many purple fruits and veg, providing the vivid colour, however the purple yam contains 150% more. Enjoy liberally for a long, dementia free life! http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p03q0lnd

    Herm, that is excellent news and perhaps another bonus of IF which could benefit more. If not improving, even preventing further deterioration would be good.

    Better day today. I did my three coffees and had breakfast porridge st 1pm. Fly in the ointment later – it’s a holiday, Martin Luther King day, so son wanted to eat out – at a bl***y steak house of all places. I told OH to go with them and I’d eat at home, but ended up there – long story. Had fries, cork fritters and stuffed mushrooms – the only thing a made a hole in was the accompanying side salad.

    Had a lovely day with the boys, out to play in the cold, but well wrapped up. Still annoyed with their father!
    Ah, well, I’ve emptied the dishwasher and poured my wine.

    Thin, the Japanese longevity featured on the Real Marigold Hotel programme, too. Communit exercises at 6.30am!

    Pol πŸ’πŸΌ

    Hi Pol, haven’t seen that yet but think I saw a similar one on India last year. Your post reminded me of ‘Best Exotic Marigold’ with Dev Patel. He also stars in the movie, ‘Lion’ that we saw last night. A bit confronting but the Indian scenes were expertly captured, the Hobart aspect drags on for half an hour longer than need be, but we all enjoyed it.

    Thin, I saw an episode of ‘how to stay young’ the other night (at least I think that’s what it was called).
    Angela Rippon (?sp) was the presenter. She’s pretty darn good for 71 but unfortunately they did find a potential health risk for her.

    They focussed on a community in America that are Seventh Day Adventist and therefore vegetarian and the outcome was if you want to stay young become vegetarian! Made me think about our meat intake which I would say has risen since I’ve been doing 5:2, so working on rectifying that.

    One other salient point my poor old memory has retained was the fact exercise in the form of dance rather than a gym class had a more positive effect on the body. Any exercise is good of course but the dancing was best as it utilises a number of different muscles as well as neurological engagement.

    35 deg.Did the big city thing today…..walk across the Bridge, go to the Museum, catch trains…with the grandies. Thank goodness for the pool when we got home.
    On the up side,I’ve hardly eaten anything 😊
    Herm, Mr P had the same optic improvement as you and I have not had a new script for 3 years. Must be 5:2, as before we were constantly getting stronger glasses. ☺☺☺P

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