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

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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 5 months, 2 weeks ago.

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  • Hello

    @carolannfud – I’m pleased to say that I stayed inspired and completed my low calorie liquid only FD and was rewarded with a weight of 54.8kg this morning and @happynow the brunch was yum – I only had one slice of the sourdough bread provided feeling rather virtuous for leaving the second one untouched as well as the butter πŸ˜‡ There is nothing wrong with taking your lowest weight for the week – I do πŸ˜‰

    Hi @pollypenny – I hope you enjoy it as much as I did – πŸ’ƒhappy dance for losing that holiday gain so promptly

    Off to watch Hinterland Season 3

    Good morning, all. The thread is quiet. I hope everyone is well. Exactly on my maintenance target weight this morning. Importantly, I’m very pleased to say that OH lost two pounds, having been strict with himself this week.

    Did anyone see Charles 111 on BBC2 on Wednesday? I thought it was excellent, especially the way the blank verse worked, including some echoes of Shakespeare. I recorded it to watch again, to concentrate on language, but I accidentally deleted it last night! 😝

    Trying a tapas restaurant in our town tonight. That shouldn’t be to difficult, there’s rarely decent vegetarian tapas.

    Pol. πŸ™‹πŸΌ

    Hi Polly
    I’m cruising well too. Too busy for full fasts while we’ve been travellong so we have skipped breakfast every day for weeks. It has worked.
    We saw Charles 111 at a live theatre last year. It was ok. But I wouldn’t rave about it. Did you see a BBC production? P

    Hi, PVE, did you see Charles 111 when you were in london? It was the BBC adaptation I saw. I loved it. I’m a republican and Charlie Boy really is my bete noir! An opinionated, petulant tax-avoider! The younger generation do offer a chance for the royals. William and Kate did a good job living in Anglesey.

    Pol. πŸ™‹πŸΌ

    No. The Sydney Theatre Company our it on last year. Another republican here too 😊😊

    Polly,

    I didn’t see Charles3, but may watch it on catchup. OH is away for a few days this week.

    I’ve been away for a long weekend, and pleased to report 0.4kg under upper limit this morning 😁 Despite having food pressed regularly on me, and 3 course evening meals, I got away unscathed. I fasted while travelling to and from, didn’t eat breakfast while away, and​ resisted all sweet ‘treats’ on offer during the day. In the past I’ve often fallen in with other people’s habits (and gluttony!), so a good result for me!

    Well done Happy! Such talented maintainers 😊😊😊

    Morning, all. Very well done, happy. It is harder when away, isn’t it. I managed to more or less keep to 16:8. I’m not a picker, it was big portions and eating by the clock, that did for me.

    Grrrr, I accidentally deleted Charles 111 and I wanted to watch it again for the language. Iplayer will have to do.

    Polly,

    I had wondered if my eating was getting unhealthily disordered, but realised that I am now just tending to eat when I’m hungry instead of a Pavlov’s dog response. In my circle of acquaintance, it’s the rigid clock watchers and breakfast eaters who are appalled (and bizarrely threatened?) by the idea of uncoupling from the clock. Does not compute…Does not compute…

    Grrr! Bad week! I’ve been thirsty and got into the habit of drinking coco cola, so disgestive system sluggish and a pound over my amended target. Portion sizes have also crept up, with OH’s ‘I only used………. ‘

    Very good dinner last night, but then Wine Tasting group, so some cheese and bread, not much though, honestly!

    Oh dear Polly, sorry to hear you’re experiencing the reality of maintenance – weight can go up as well as down! I think we need these reminders occasionally though, to keep us on the straight and narrow.

    I abhor coca cola, not drunk it since I was a teenager and then only occasionally…although it was made slightly more palatable by the addition of rum πŸ˜€ I really struggle to see it’s appeal. Except as drain cleaner obviously!

    I was going to do a 36 hour no food fast this week, as I want to work up to 3 days (for the health benefits), but I decided I wasn’t heavy enough. Ah, the joy of first world problems!!!

    Great excuse Happy! You could do the 36 hour, then see if you can binge?
    I’ve realised, Polly, how incredibly easy it would be to regain weight. The 300 cal a day difference I’d need to regain all my shed weight would not take much effort, however, keeping it off takes effort, but is SO worth it.
    I’m with Happy re Coke. I’ve never been a fan. In fact all carbonated sugar drinks taste dreadful. But a good wine…that HAD to be good for you! πŸ˜‰πŸ˜‰P

    Hello all, saw the topic and thought I would join. I started ADF in February, needed to lose 18 pounds and was having great difficulty even though I work out 5 days every week and walk 10000. Well lo and behold, a couple months later I reached my goal weight of 153 pounds. Now I’m trying to maintain, which seems to be the hardest part. After reaching my goal, I celebrated by eating everything in sight and of course gained 4 pounds in 2 weeks. I’m currently on the downward trend though, weighed in this morning and I’m 155. So planning to adopt 16:8 with two fasts days a week for the health benefits. Love wine hate coke.

    Welcome Basyjames
    You seem to have worked it out. Exercise is great for us all, but it is what, how much and when we eat that governs our weight, and ultimately our health. Keep us posted on your continued success. PVE 😊

    Morning all and welcome Basyjames. Coke not popular then. I was looking for a non-sweet soft drink, although I rarely take a coke. I need to stock-up on soda water and go back to line and soda. The bigger problem is portion size creep.

    We won the U3A quiz again last night – token prize – chocolate Matchmakers! I resisted celebrated with a glass of wine, though. Vodka instead! 🍸

    Pol. πŸ™‹πŸΌ

    Hi

    I’m back from a week visiting friends down south – managed to spend time with each of my friends who have been going through a hard time.
    My friend with the newly diagnosed lung cancer has had the best news, it is a slow growing cancer and rather rare so she has been seen by the top specialists and is now waiting to hear from a specialist hospital in London next week as to what is considered the best treatment plan – she is much more optimistic and has gone from thinking she might not see xmas to knowing she has some years to enjoy with her family and friends.

    I had a brilliant week catching up with everyone and celebrating birthdays and friendships and still managed to come back home below my target weight!

    Broke yesterday’s water/tea with skimmed milk FD (easy to do as was driving for a long part of the day!) after 36hrs this morning with brunch out with OH.
    So despite not having a FD since 11/5 – weight maintained nicely whilst visiting friends down south. Mostly did 20:4 days whilst away – tea/coffee and water during the day and a 2 course meal most evenings with plenty of 🍷πŸ₯‚on some evenings but not all………I did the driving on a couple of days to ensure that I only drank sparkling mineral water on those days! It was surprisingly easy not to allow myself to be pressed into eating just for the sake of it – my friends all know that I follow the 5:2 WOL and though not understanding how we can go without food for a day or more, they are surprisingly supportive – as one said “the results speak for themselves when I look at you”
    My plan for maintenance whilst away for the week worked, as I never felt deprived or that I was missing out so definitely did a πŸ’ƒthis morning when stepping off the scales.

    @pollypenny – agree with the others, coca-cola and other soft drinks are the devil’s food – not only bad for you but releases the “hunger dragon” – try sparkling mineral water with lemon/lime and ice
    @happynow – I still do a 36 hour no food fast and a 500cal FD each week for the long term health benefits; I just increase my good food intake on the other days and of course it allows me to enjoy a glass or two of 🍷πŸ₯‚on 3 or 4 days of the week with no guilt – Wine in moderation cannot be bad as @purple Vegie Eater says – I have been happily maintaining doing this since December 2016
    @basyjames – Welcome and another 🍷lover too……As you say maintenance needs to be worked at just as much as losing the weight but with 5:2 as a WOL it certainly is feasible!

    I came across this quote recently and thought I would share – β€œI have come to the realisation that the scale is not my friend or foe. It is only the messenger!” πŸ˜‰

    I’m exhausted (but exhilarated) after a few days away myself, but did I read you correctly, AT, that I said something negative about wine? Not me! I regard it as the elixir of life. Other than fast days, we have drunk wine every day since we started 5:2 in April 2013! (And before then too, obviously ☺)

    (EDIT: Rereading, I misunderstood your comment. We both agree on the juice of the vine )

    Great news re your friend’s prognosis. What marvellous news. P

    Another quiet week. I did read all, but too busy to post.

    Well, digestion back to normal quite quickly and lost the little gain. In fact, I’m just a smidgen over 9st, so on my lower border. Will have to eat the Matchmakers, little prize fir winning our U3A quiz. A glass or three of wine won’t go amiss either.

    I’m still searching for a suitable, non- sweet soft drink. I’m fed-up with lime and soda and actually tried a Tango on Wednesday. Yesterday, at poetry, I had a weak orange juice with soda. It was ok.

    We went to see Antony and Cleopatra live from the RSC on Wednesday. Very good. Anthony Byrne as Antony was excellent. Josette Simone was a bit too shouty, but nevertheless well worth seeing.

    Optician later. Better move myself.

    Pol.

    Polly, I make water kefir, and although there is very little sparkle in mine, it might be what you are looking for. But I think you are looking for something you can drink when you are out, though? So no help there.

    Do report back as to the improvement or otherwise in your sight. πŸ™‚

    Thanks, Barata. It’s a drink for both, really. I slug water at home, but sometimes we want a leisurely cold drink, especially when relaxing after some hard work. I will drink wine, or a spritzer, if I’m not driving, but I dare not have anything if I am. I’m clearly the only one who likes Coke, then, Pepsi is better. πŸ˜”
    Eye test was ok, with slightly improved distance vision. Surprising..

    OH lost two pounds, so he’s in the right mind-set again.

    No sign of Herm for a while. I wonder how the house move is going.

    Pol. πŸ™‹πŸΌ

    Hi Polly,

    I struggle when out (and the designated driver!) to hit on anything that I’d be happy to drink more than one glass of in an evening, and feels a bit more special than water. I tend to opt for natural lemonades, elderflower presse type drinks, or ginger beer. I really don’t like fizzy drinks of any sorts (except tonic in my gin πŸ˜€), I don’t like the bloat I get from the fizz and I don’t care for the synthetic taste.

    Good luck with your continuing quest though!

    Great news that your OH has registered a loss. Does he have much to lose in total?

    I’ve maintained with one 24 hour fast this week, much easier when it’s hot. Just putting off my first food of Saturday – waiting for my kefir spelt soda bread to cook.

    I’m hoping to get some gardening done before the storms we’ve been forecast. I must admit that the mid-high 20s is a bit of a struggle for every day life, but not relishing a drop back to 16 or so next week!

    I’m the same – impossible to find a drink when out that’s appetising, not laden with sugar and not alcoholic. I tend to have one glass of water and then no more.

    I’ve been wondering where Herm is too and how it’s all going.

    I imagine dear little Herm in a moving box on the back of a truck πŸ˜‰ I hope they unpack her soon with your heatwave 😊😊
    Re drink driving…we are on our way home by train after an evening out. It meant we could drink, but we danced most of the night, leaving little drinking time πŸ˜‘πŸ˜‘
    All good for the constitution P

    I thought I’d better reassure you lovely people that the old bird hasn’t dropped off the twig. Sadly, though, she and her male bird are still sitting on the same ****ing twig, wishing we had the facility to crap on the heads of certain people.

    Our sale fell through because of a nasty survey which scared the bejaysus out of the buyers. We were therefore obliged to pull out of Haggis Gap when the vendors started to demand that we exchange contracts and complete by an impossible deadline. All this after they told us the sale was chain-free and there was no hurry.

    The buyers turned distinctly hostile when we asked if we, or the agents, might see the disastrous survey report. We only wanted to see it to work out what we might do to remedy the problems.

    We commissioned our own survey which was much more optimistic. It’s late-19th-century house, for Pete’s sake. What he called “historic” cracks are to be expected and are no cause for major concern. Methinks the buyers’ surveyor was wet behind the ears and unused to dealing with older properties. As soon as the flat, which we temporarily took off the market, starts to attract viewers, and hopefully offers, we’ll resume our search in Cambridge.

    All of this has been doing my head in, so much so that I’ve been turning down work for fear I would screw up mightily and turn in a career-ending job. You’re only as good as your last translation. I’ve been back in business for the last 10 days and, according to my friend and colleague who is managing the latest large project which will keep us busy until September, I’m also back on fighting form.

    I’m afraid strict 5:2 has gone out of the window for now. Fortunately, though, 24-hour fasting and/or 16-8, even 18-6, come naturally to me. Nor do I comfort eat. Comfort fasting is more my game. Also I’m finding more and more carb-heavy stuff disgusting and to be avoided. So I’m maintaining and am still able to look in the mirror without wanting to throw up.

    So sorry to hear of your property troubles Herm. I guess something will happen eventually.
    Perhaps you could swap with friends of ours in Devon who are having similar problems. Their life has been on hold for 3 years while they try to sell. Make redressing your property sales system an election issue! It desperately needs revamping. P

    Thanks for your sympathy, P. I realise our case is relatively mild. Once you get talking to people about property purchases and sales all sorts of horror stories emerge. I totally agree that our system needs overhauling. I guess it’s a bit late to make it an election issue with less than two weeks to go. For me, the main issue is to squash the Maybug and her fellow insects flat – pauses to watch pig fly past the window – although I, and others like me, have to accept that it ain’t going to happen. But then we thought Brexit wasn’t going to happen…

    πŸ·πŸ–πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚πŸ˜‚

    Oh, Herm, what a pain! Nothing like house-selling! I’m with you in wanting to squash May. Don’t suppose we will though.

    Happy, OH lost three stone last year, but found it difficult over the winter. It doesnt help that I’m maintaining and really do not want to lose more. He will instinct on sandwiches at lunch time, not accepting that he’s eating too many carbs. He’d like to lose another stone, plus the half stone he regained, of course. He’s a right grump at the moment.

    Back to subject of drinks, I resent paying Β£4.50 for the likes of Fentiman’s various bottles. There’s no duty on them, as on alcohol I believe. Well, I’m having a glass of cold rose in the garden shortly. Heaving ironing made me so hot.

    Pol. 🍸

    Hi Pol,
    I thought I’d replied an hour or more ago. Thanks for your sympathy. I agree we probably won’t be able to squash the bug, but a much-reduced majority instead of the predicted landslide might be some sort of a victory.

    I sympathise with you when it comes to grumpy old men. I’ve got one of those at home, too. But he would argue I was a grumpy old woman and he’d be right – of late I’ve been more incandescent than grumpy.

    Herm,

    So sorry the move has fallen through. What a nightmare.

    Our current place is an 18th century farmhouse with a 19th century extension. Our surveyor was great, basically said yep, there’s a bulge in the wall, etc. as you’d expect for a property of that age, but it ain’t going anywhere. The mortgage company were a bit wary initially but accepted its stood for over 200 years so far… I wonder how much of what’s been thrown up in the last 50 years will still be standing in 200!

    Even though our move went (relatively) smoothly, it was still a massively stressful process. We had no upward or downward chain either!

    Re: grumpy old men (as Herm knows) I have one too! He isn’t yet 60, but he’s been grumpy for the last 20 years… He would probably say I’m a grumpy old woman…he’d be partly right! I know I’m less happy then I was 3 years ago… I probably can’t entirely blame the Tories (☹️), I suspect at 48 that I must be perimenopausal … Bowever, I will always be 9 years younger than him… if I’m old, then so must he be, and he’s Peter Pan!

    Hi All

    @purple Vegie Eater – I would never dream of saying that you don’t enjoy a 🍷I’m with you – this one is not negotiable – had a lovely grilled mackerel fillets with homemade rhubarb chutney (out of my garden!) with a couple of glasses of rose tonight and still came in under TDEE for the day – how good is that?

    Despite a couple of hiccups this week I’m still maintaining at 54kg/119lbs this morning πŸ’ƒhappy dance times…….

    @pollypenny – I find sparkling mineral water with lime/lemon and ice a good substitute when not drinking – I hate soft drinks and not keen on fruit juice – do hope you find something you like soon….
    @hermajtomomi – feel for you re the house issues – but I’m a firm believer that things will happen when it’s for the best – be patient and it will happen when the time is right
    @pollypenny – over here my OH has never had a weight problem but he is a bit of a fitness and health fiend – he eats a lot but does not drink 🍷(used to and introduced me to wine when we first met……..) and eats only healthy stuff!!!! I’m not complaining as I always have a named driver when we go out and he totally gets why I follow the 5:2 WOL!

    Great Friday (FD) and Saturday (well within TDEE) – Let’s hope the rest of the BH weekend follows the same pattern.

    Just finished watching Hinterland – anyone else followed the series?

    Have a great weekend and stay mindful – Goodnight

    Once again, thank you all for your sympathy.

    AT, I also believe in fate, and things falling into place when they are meant to, but I really would be grateful if the fates would pull their fingers out and use them to guide grown-up buyers to our flat.

    Perhaps instead of first-time buyers, of which three have each done a runner, we should hope for some rich City type who will buy it as a pied-a-terre or as somewhere to stash his mistress or boyfriend while he goes home to the leafy Shires. Or maybe a female CEO who wants to keep her toyboy somewhere stylish – we are in “meeja” country here, which is why we can’t afford to up-size locally. I love North London but it’s out of our league.

    Happy, I’m in the possibly unique position of having a grumpy old toyboy, who, BTW, was mistaken for Jeremy Corbyn the other day. Yes, really. Something to do with the white beard and funny hat, maybe?

    Still, once the Bank Holiday is done and dusted – a working one for me compensated by a skive or two in the next couple of weeks – we’ll be out searching again.Maybe this time … But I’ve learnt not to hold my breath.

    Oh Herm, so sorry to hear your news! How frustrating, disappointing and annoying!

    I think maybe you’re on the right track with the sort of buyer you need. First home buyers are maybe not confident enough to buy an old house.

    We have an old house (at least old by Aussie standards). We have bulges, the odd crack or two but I tell you the old part of the house is far more solid and better built than the new extension we had built on six years ago!

    Experience tells you what to look for, what can be overlooked and what can’t when viewing potential properties.

    Best wishes Herm!

    Carol, we had an 80 year old full brick house, years ago, that had no footings…it sat on solid clay that moved every time it rained! We had cracks everywhere. We papered over the cracks. It looked gorgeous and we sold it for double what we’d paid 2 years earlier. The buyers didn’t look at the foundations or notice the appalling wiring, but queried the curtains!! Buyer beware, I say. We’ve owned lots of old houses. We live in one now. They are part of our heritage and, of course, are idiosyncratic. ☺
    Gorgeous 23 deg here. Salad lunch outside with birds carrying on a treat. Great to be alive!!!
    Enjoy every moment. P ☺☺

    No footings – that’s pretty unusual lol

    Our house was built 1936, Tudor style (Aussie Tudor style 😊).

    Wish we had your weather – poured this morning!

    Oh, PVE, for once we are experiencing the same lovely temperatures! It was very muggy last night, though.

    AT, I do usually drink lime and soda when I’m driving and dine times at home. My search started in the coffee bar of our local theatre with no soda. We watched the first two series of Hinterland, but didn’t like the third. Too many long moody pauses. I suppose that’s a problem with filming in both languages, although it’s good to fly the flag for Welsh on national TV.

    Daughter and partner coming over soon, so I need to tidy up and have a quick swish of the kitchen floor.

    Pol. 🌾

    No Carol. That era of house was always built directly on the ground. As they are full brick they don’t flex at all and much of Sydney is on beautiful clay. Great for making bricks, but expands and contracts massively with our wet and dry weather. Cracks in the plaster above doors of these houses is almost universal.
    Even though we have no rain predicted, my hand joints are killing me today. So, if SA has rain, that explains it. We’ll be getting it soon. I can always tell by my arthritis πŸ˜‘πŸ˜‘πŸ˜‘
    Poll, I stick to water and black coffee on fast days and wine the other 5. ☺☺P

    P,

    You stick to drinking wine (only?!) on your non-fast days? 😁

    Well our weather has broken, and the temperature has dropped back 10 degrees after yesterday’s rain. We could hear thunder in the distance, but had light rain only from 3pm. It was absolutely tipping it down a few miles away though… I know because I decided to go to town (it was either that or clean the house 😡). I had to wring my jeans and socks out when I got home!

    Dry at the moment, so I can hopefully get my peas in. I haven’t yet inspected the slug damage from last night… πŸ™

    I wish, Happy. I do water and coffee in between ☺☺
    Sorry to hear the weather has turned. P

    Today marks my three month targetversary, and I am still in the zone I have set myself, in fact almost a pound under my target weight. On the first of next month I plan to step away from logging what I eat, except on a fast day, and see what happens then. I am hoping all this logging is building good habits that will carry over afterwards into the rest of my life.

    Great you’re on target Mixnmatch!

    What you’re proposing to do is pretty much what I did. Once I got onto maintenance I virtually eat similar foods each day apart from the occasional bust out. And of course if it’s too big a bust out the scales reflect that!

    Once you’ve spent some time logging food and calorie intake you have a sense of how many calories you’re eating at each meal. The only meal I have never counted is the main evening meal on a non FD but because I’m aware of calories consumed during the day I know I can afford to be more generous at night time.

    😊

    Well done Mixnmatch! You are right on target.
    I’m with Carol….once you have your head around this wol, it should not be necessary to measure calories. You soon learn which foods and drinks you can eat and which to avoid. Steer away from white carbs, eat lots of low gi veg and choose small portions. Fast regularly to reset both appetite and cravings.
    When I weighed this morning, my usually reliable scales gave me 10 different readings, over a range of 1.5 kg. I guess I should believe the lightest πŸ˜‰πŸ˜‰P

    For sure the lightest reading would be correct Purple!

    Maybe time for new battery or new scales 😊

    I am eating some white carbs again, but very rarely and in the tiniest of portions, and of course at the moment all counted. I am the sort of person who if I say I can never have something ever again immediately wants it 🀐 more of a concern for me is a return to my previous drinking habits, so I will continue trying to restrict drinking alcohol to 2, sometimes 3 days a week, plus holidays. The quantity has already dropped. Counting is definitely a safety net for me at the moment, which has to go for me to feel ‘normal’ at this weight.

    Absolutely Mix. It is the awareness we have gained. Making choices doesn’t mean denial. We drink wine 5 nights a week and have flour based goods, but not too often. I’m so used to not cooking with sugar, I left it out of some biscuits (dreadful) and then banana muffins (still excellent) P

    Morning, all. Well done, mixnmatch. Feels good, eh? I’m with the other wise voices here – careful with carbs, especially white ones. One sort I cannot take to is wholemeal pasta, though. This is in spite of only ever having eaten wholemeal bread for donkey’s years.

    I don’t have specific FDs now, but do 16:8 permanently. Lost weight again this week, so I will have to eat those Matchmakers I won in the U3A quiz! Grumpy Old Women lunch yesterday – thinnest soup ever, so bad, coupled with right-wing regurgitation of the Daily Mail!

    Like you, PVE, we do still have wine on more nights than not. OH didn’t lose anything this week, although he drank less than I – oh- oh, there might have been a couple of sneaky beers after heavy gardening!

    Scales sometimes vary depending on the floor in our house. I was trying to make them show a little more today.

    Have a good day, or evening!

    Pol.

    Have you tried zucchini spaghetti Poll? Spiralise a large zucchini (corgette ) place in a pasta bowl and add a sauce. No cooking required. Yum. P

    No we haven’t tried it yet! Months ago, OH was full-fuss to buy a spiraliser and I had a job to stop him getting a big one that would take up worktop space. The damn thing had sat in a drawer ever since! I will remind him, especially as he doesn’t like pasta, so it could be a way.

    Going to the theatre with the poetry group tonight, so I’m eating out before. Light meal I think or maybe starter and dessert.

    Well Polly needs to put weight on, not lose it P! So no COURGETTE (😁) pasta for her, white carbs are called for?!

    I have to admit I’ve not used my spiralizer yet, but the first courgettes from the polytunnel should be ready next week 😁

    We are having spiralised carrot on our salad tonight. ..always looks professional 😊

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