Hi Carol
I hate ‘down under’ too…SO Eurocentric! P 😊
This topic contains 11,627 replies, has 174 voices, and was last updated by hermajtomomi 6 months, 3 weeks ago.
For the record: my father’s family came to the US from Wiltshire, England. Before the Conquest, they were French. His mother was proud of her Scottish heritage on her mother’s side. my mother’s family came to the US from Germany, tho before that they lived in Switzerland and France, fleeing during the Protestant Wars. So I come from a line of people who were oppressed, as the Welsh were. I will be more culturally sensitive in future. [when I’m in France, people think I’m English or German]
Hope you avoid the flu, Purple.
Keep running, Happy.
Hi, fasting and all the crew! Of course you’re forgiven! We had a Canadian teaching assistant who was very annoyed every time she was asked if she was American, more so when people just assumed she was American.
You and your husband seem to be at the same stage as we two. He lost three stone, wanted to lose another stone, but put 7lb back on. He’s still 3lbs over his lowest weight – because he’s still having a sandwich at lunchtime, I’m sure. Back to Mimi’s recipe book would do,the trick, but it’s nearly the end of summer and he’s still making excuses.
Sorry to hear that ‘flu is sweeping around your area, PVE! At least winter is drawing to an end for you.
Happy, you’ve been without broadband! 😱 Not good in this day!
Welcome, Sirisan. Love your username, I’m impressed by the kettle bell work for tums. I wonder if it would help me. I have a flappy tummy, but do not want to lose any more weight.
Pol.
Good morning all
As a wine lover myself I sympathise with those of us who enjoy a tipple – I also never drink on a FD and try to limit my 🍷intake over 4 days a week. Every now and then if there has been much socialising I do a Mon-Fri 🍷free 😇
I also enjoy cake and coffee, dark chocolate as well as wine and this WOL allows me to enjoy all of these just not in the same quantities I used to before finding this WOL without putting the weight back on!
I still enjoy the feeling I get on my FD and I have seen real health benefits that fasting has given me so I hope that it is also helping with preventing longer term health issues – some interesting research being done!
I agree that it is hard to believe that there are people out there who do not get any real exercise…….walking stimulates us both mentally and physically. Living in the UK I love the changes the different seasons bring – being lucky enough to live in Cumbria walking brings different joy at different times of the year – I know for some it is too cold and wet but truly it is not always like that!!!!!!
A big welcome to @sirisan – nice to see you here from the monthly challenges 🤗Like others here have said I love to have a bit of wriggle room – my top happy weight is 55kg and I find that generally I sit around 54kg by fasting 2 days a week
@pollypenny – love the sound of your tomato salad – often the simplest things taste the best!! Doing planks is great for the tummy – here is a good link for beginners:
How to do a Plank – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASdvN_XEl_c&list…
This is a link for a plank challenge if you have done them before – as you get more proficient you can add 5secs or 10 secs to each of the variations
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqqN1sEDXrIKXe16tZ5Yanw
I have enjoyed doing this challenge for the month of August but having said that I don’t think I will ever have a flat tummy……..
@fasting_me – tick off has the same double meaning here 😉
A bit of a dull Bank Holiday Monday here but not cold hope the sun comes out later as promised
I’m on a FD today – happy fasting to anyone else joining me
Since I hadn’t had a blood test since 2013, soon after starting 5:2, I thought it might be an idea to get one, just to see the less visible results of 4 1/2 years hard work. Along with losing 20+% of my starting weight – a process punctuated by horrendously long plateaux – this WOE has led to highly acceptable BP measurements, much lower than the pre-hypertension I registered before very slowly weaning myself off medication, as well as, quite unexpectedly, improved vision and weaker lenses.
The results of the bloods, all requested and provided online, were gratifying. I’m especially pleased to see my blood glucose levels sitting comfortably within the normal range. With two diabetic parents and a younger brother with Type 2 diabetes, I wondered for how long I would escape. So far, so good. Everything else as fine, apart from one.
It came as a complete surprise to see that my cholesterol levels have risen as follows:
Total cholesterol:HDL ratio4.4
Serum cholesterol 7.9 mmol/L.
I’m not sure what the figures mean, but the doc describes them as “very high”.
I was on statins for several years but came off them, with the doc’s approval, when I developed scream-out-loud muscular pains, which eased within a month of stopping the sweeties and are now thankfully rare. I was mystified that IF had had such positive effects but missed out on cholesterol so I not only googled but also trawled through the forum. I found a poster with the same problem and, more importantly, some very interesting and informative links, including a lecture by our good friend Jason Fung, put up by simcoeluv who is an occasional visitor to this thread. I hope she won’t mind my quoting her and sharing the links.
https://thefastdiet.co.uk/forums/topic/cholesterol-levels-have-gone-up/
Long story short. Raised cholesterol is not an uncommon effect of weight loss. Also my quack, like many others, even fairly young ones, would appear to be about 30 years out of date in her thinking about cholesterol and fat consumption. I shall not seek a follow-up appointment If someone warns me AGAIN to stay off fatty meats (which I hate) and stop snacking (which I just don’t do) I shall turn violent. BTW, despite being older than God, I score very low on the Frailty Index and am classified as “fit”, and hence still able to fight dirty. 🙂
herma, I’m going to cherish the mental image of you ‘fighting dirty’! Could it be that eating more seafood raises the cholesterol? My husband’s ratio and cholesterol both went in the wrong direction at last blood work. Wonder what M.M. would tell us about that. I have high Total Cholesterol, but a great ratio, so they leave me alone. Hope that won’t change. Nice changes on your numbers.
AT, fasting here in PEI too. Mushroom Baked Eggs with a peach for brekkie; Salmon/Cucumber Boats for dinner. Still have to work out the recipe for that. We used to eat it decades ago, then didn’t. Cumbria is a lovely place to walk.
Pol, thank you for forgiving me. A propos my oppressed ancestors. The one who fought with William did not remain in England after the Conquest. He returned to France, so I’d like to think that he didn’t do too much oppressing.
happy Fasting today.
Herm, I had the impression that the practice nurse did not believe that I never snack, too. I had a cholesterol blood test some years ago, as I’d never been tested. My tinnitus had changed to pulsating and the test was suggested by the lovely audiologist, who probably saved my life. I was ok, but had to have ‘the session’. As she went through her list – crisps, biscuits m croissants etc – I replied ‘never eat them’ I could see the scepticism. I just don’t like them.
That’s strange about your cholesterol now, especially after doing so well on every other aspect of your health. I’m going to read simcolev’ spots now. I’d always thought it was a bloke though.
Fasting, I also live in a lovely place for walks. Mendelssohn called it ‘little Switzerland’. Google the Clwydian Range.
Pol
fasting_me, forgot to mention, if by “seafood” you mean shellfish, I never touch the stuff. Too many bad experiences can’t all be coincidence. Fin-fish I love.
As for fighting dirty, I have long cherished the wish to get myself a T-shirt with the slogan “Contains violence and strong language” on the front and “If you bother me I’ll expletive deleted murder you” on the back. With my luck, some over-eager cop might well arrest me for “conduct likely to cause a breach of the peace” or “threatening behaviour”. 🙂
Pol, you’ve got me worried. I’ve always assumed simcoeluv was a woman. I did have high cholesterol about 15 years ago as well as high (but not THAT high) BP and far too much blubber for a 5ft 1in (155 cm) body to carry with any kind of dignity.
I’m afraid I don’t know how to interpret my recent cholesterol score. Can anyone do it for me. Explanation in words of one syllable, please.
As far as my old nursing knowledge remembers I think that generally, the Total Cholesterol:HDL ratio should be below four, as a higher ratio increases your risk of heart disease and with regards to your Serum Cholesterol generally this should be below 5.2 mmol/L; if it is 5.2-6.2 mmol/L it is considered borderline high
You may know this already or are doing it already but some foods punch well above their weight in helping to reduce cholesterol levels as follows:-
*Soya Foods – 15g soya protein per day. Choose from: soya alternatives to milk and yogurt, soya desserts, soya meat alternatives, soya nuts, edamame beans and tofu.
*Nuts – 30-35g a day of nuts (a handful) has the potential to lower cholesterol by an average of 5%.
*Oats and Barley – Both oats and barley are rich in a form of soluble fibre called beta glucan an it is recommended that we eat about 3g of beta glucan per day. e.g. 30g dry oats, 2 tbsp. (13g) oatbran,
*Foods fortified with plant sterols and stanols – Plant sterols/stanols are naturally found in a wide range of foods such as vegetable oils, nuts, seeds, whole grains, fruits and vegetables. No additional benefit in taking more than 3g per day – However, for most people, it is not possible to achieve the optimum intake from ordinary foods. Drinking one Benecol or Flora Proactive fortified mini yoghurt drink (67.5-100ml) per day as most of these contain about 2g of plant sterol or stanol
*Fruits and vegetables – Try to include at least one pulse (beans, peas, lentils) everyday. Other rich sources of soluble fibre include sweet potato, aubergine, okra (ladies finger), broccoli, apples, strawberry and prunes.
*Foods rich in unsaturated fats – Keeping our daily saturated fat intake below 20g (women) is vital for cholesterol lowering, but it is equally important to replace this saturated fat with modest amounts of unsaturated fats such as those found in olive, sunflower, corn, rapeseed and other vegetable, nut and seed oils. Other foods rich in unsaturated fats include vegetable spreads, avocado, oily fish and nuts/seeds. Avoid coconut and palm oil as, unlike other these vegetable oils, they are rich in saturated fats.
Hope I have laid out the information in a useful and easily understood manner – like you I’m not keen to take any statins – not very useful in someone who is asymptomatic
AT
AT, I follow a number of these rules already and have done for some time. I now eat considerably less than I did in the past, very often only one meal a day. I don’t know how many items I could include on the menu in any one day.
Unfortunately, I actively dislike most soy products (especially tofu) although I often use soy mince, sometimes in conjunction with oat bran. I don’t like nuts and I find mini yogurt drinks disgusting. My diet regularly includes pulses and all the fruit and veg named apart from okra and I rarely cook or make dressings with anything other than olive, rapeseed or walnut oil. I could happily live on oily fish and avocado.
All this presupposes that cholesterol is the bad guy and I think it’s fair to say that the jury is still out as to whether this is the case or not. My understanding is that sugar is the killer. Certainly, the link simcoeluv supplied leads to several contributions suggesting precisely that.
Hermaj, there is a site that explains medical terminology. If you google it I’m sure it will come up.
I wonder why you didn’t get anLDL reading also as the ratio between HDL and LDL is very important.
My understanding is your cholesterol level rises as you age so maybe that’s something to do wit it too??
PS I always assumed Simcoluv was a male 😊
Carol, I also thought that the ratio between HDL and LDL was important, but the figures were cut and pasted directly from the test results as posted by the surgery and there was no mention of LDL. Maybe it’s just a cack-handed British way of doing things, or maybe an attempt to mystify patients.
The age thing might also be relevant, although I haven’t seen that so far in any of the literature.
My instinct is to keep on with the same way of eating, which has had such a positive effect on all the other conditions tested – all comfortably normal – and perhaps make a more determined attempt to include a few more cholesterol-lowering foods, just in case Dr Fung and his colleagues are wrong about cholesterol not being crucial – which I very much doubt.
I’m also old enough to remember one of the characters who appear in simcoeluv’s link, Dr John Yudkin, the British prof whose book, Pure, White and Deadly, published way back in the 60s, warned of the dangers of sugar. He also published a great diet book called This Slimming Business, basically low-carb, which I followed with reasonable success in my late teens and twenties.
One thing’s for sure. No way will I take statins. Too bad if I fall out with the quack. We won’t be on her books for much longer.
Can you ring surgery and ask if blood was tested for LDL?
I have under active thyroid and its hit and miss when I have my blood test as to wether I get a full profile of results or not so I always go to the doctor and ask him for the results as there’s generally more info on there than what they share with you by phone or email.
Yes, I think you keep on doing what you are, that reading might just have been a little blip.
I haven’t read the article yet but you said a link with sugar?? You don’t have much sugar though do you?
For what it’s worth my GP told me years ago cholesterol levels were not as important as many of us believe, that he’d had elderly people with very high cholesterol levels who were fine and healthy. I took that to heart a bit and have focussed more on HDL/LDL and very happy to say 5:2 has had a positive impact on that reading! Even though I’ve always had quite low cholesterol my ratio was never good.
It’s just a minefield really isn’t it! We need to wade our way through and I think our instincts are a good guide.
I just looked at your results again Herm and if I’m interpreting right your LDL is 3.5, so that’s a very good ratio between HDL/LDL. Serum levels are total, HDL is one part so if you take the HDL from the total that leaves you with LDL reading (I think and BTW I have no medical training just interested in these things so don’t take my word as gospel) 😊
@hermajtomomi – thought you might be up to speed with all the dietary side – My OH is a retired medic and he is anti statins too and he says there is no evidence that they help unless you have symtomatic disease and even then the jury remains out on it’s value……
I suffer with familial high cholesterol and 5:2 has helped lower my levels to just above normal in the first year of fasting – I’m having them checked again in January (a year later) to see what the second year of fasting has done…..and statins is not for me either
FYI:-
LDL is known as “bad cholesterol”
HDL is referred to as “good cholesterol”, and higher levels are better
Total cholesterol level is a combination of LDL and HDL cholesterol.
To calculate your cholesterol ratio, divide your HDL number into your total cholesterol number
Very interesting discussion on cholesterol. Statins are a no-no for me, too. OH has been on them for years.
Simcolev was very helpful in my years months on 5:2. I assumed the user name is short for Simon Colin something.
Oh-oh, over-ate last last. A delicious, thick tomato sauce, full of good veg, but the spaghetti was perfect, too. Strawberries and natural yoghurt after, so I’m hitting the good cholesterol.
Interesting piece on Superfoods last night. A prof from Manchester university described eggs as ‘nature’s sunglasses’ because of their high levels of Lutein. I’m terrified of macular degeneration, so I’m going to increase my egg consumption. It’ll probably mean some bread, too, scrambled on toast is lovely.
Pol
Thanks for all the ideas.
Carol, I hesitate to ring the surgery. I’ve tried in the past but have never got further than the front-of-house staff who can’t read results any better than I can. My thyroid hormone test result was and always has been normal and you’re right, I don’t take a lot of sugar and don’t have much of a sweet tooth. Just as well really, otherwise I would probably have been ginormous. Even so, I still get lectures about sugar intake from doctors who automatically assume that it’s the cause of my weight problem. Plus they often throw in fatty meat consumption, to which I respond with how I used to get a clip round the ear as a kid when I trimmed any trace of fat from the meat on my plate.
AT, I did know what HDL and LDL stood for. To remember the difference, I assumed that HDL was “highly desirable” and LDL “less desirable”.
P, it was less about simco’s own ideas than about the interesting links that emerged from his exchanges with other posters. Hope he doesn’t mind being mistaken for a lady. 🙂
Hi Hermaj (and all!),
I haven’t got anything to add to the cholesterol/ statin discussion, except that I would be very wary of a drug that, while undoubtedly of value to some, is being so heavily promoted for use in huge swathes of the population (statins for everyone over 50, anyone?!) for no good reason (other than drug company benefits?) and to address something that may not actually be a problem for most people (yep, the body needs cholesterol).
I posted a link to the following on another thread, so some of you may already have seen it:
http://www.zoeharcombe.com/2013/10/how-statin-drugs-really-lower-cholesterol-and-kill-you-one-cell-at-a-time/
I also see in the news today headlines screaming that statins are linked to lower rates of breast cancer and mortality! I haven’t read the research, but what’s reported in the news appears to be that having high cholesterol is linked to significantly lower risk of breast cancer and improved mortality… and the researchers think this shows a protective effect most likely linked to statins (because women with high cholesterol are likely to be taking statins!).
Obviously the full research may explain why it is that high cholesterol is not itself the protective mechanism… and why the researchers assume it must be statins (when they appear to only ‘assume’ the women must have been taking them, but which can’t be working too well on reducing cholesterol if these several thousand women had high cholesterol despite allegedly taking statins!).
But maybe I’m just being dense at the start of my working week!
I’m with you on the egg yolks, Pol. ODHusband likes them runny like you Purple, and I can hardly bear to watch him eat them. Scrambled mushroom-eggs on toast! Be still my heart.
We have an egg bake [one egg/person] every Monday and an omelette [1.5 eggs/person] every Thursday. And then there are the eggs in the cookies and cakes… We go through about 12/week, especially if there is a lot of baking to do.
I’m convinced that cholesterol naturally goes up a bit as we age. Must ask PCP about that. She’s very good about explaining. I had asked her years ago if it is considered a good idea for older people to carry a little extra weight. “Why would you want to do that?” she retorted. As my weight went down due to IF, she has been supportive because I am so healthy. 10 years ago,before weight loss, my cholesterol was going up a bit. She suggested statins might be in order if the trend continued. Instead I lost weight which stabilized the cholesterol. Now that my weight is even lower [confession time: I weigh 7.6 stones], I will be interested in seeing my next cholesterol reading. Insurance only allows every 2 years.
Statins lower inflammation. Heart attacks are caused by a form of inflammation. For a while that was the ‘disease du jour’ for the medical profession. Given time, that will change.
As always, a lot of sense being talked on here. I completely agree with both Happy and Purple. Handing pills out like sweeties to people of a certain age “just in case” is a bad idea , probably motivated by promises of rewards from Big Pharma, and I’m not about to play along with it.
The breast cancer story seems already to have got twisted (possibly by the non-expert press), giving all the credit to good old statins, which the subjects of the study are assumed to have been taking, when in fact it’s bad old cholesterol that is having (heaven forfend!)a favourable effect.
To absorb a bit more sense, I’m going to reread Jason Fung’s excellent book, The Obesity Code, as well as another potentially informative read from another doctor, Malcolm Kendrick, entitled The Great Cholesterol Con, which has been hovering on my Kindle for some time.
fasting_me, I’ve also heard and been comforted by the idea that it’s not a bad thing for mature people to carry a few extra pounds. Although I’d love to shed another 5 kilos (11 pounds), I know how my plateau-prone body works and it might simply refuse to lose any more. Since I’m in pretty good shape (despite the cholesterol which might not be such bad news anyway) and also rather like what I now see in the mirror and the reactions I get from family and friends, I will persevere with this WOE but not break my heart if those final pounds insist on sticking.
Herm, I definitely, absolutely, insistently – if there is such a word – do not want to lose any more weight. If someone told me I could put a couple of pounds on my face I would in a flash!
I’m another who won’t take statins. I also refused the pneumonia vaccine that the NHS is doling out. It can be this old woman’s friend if necessary. The thought of having ARMD, deafness worse and at risk if incontinence thanks to neglect in labour, I’d rather pop my clogs.
That’s why I’ll never give up the wine! 🍷
Pol
Me too, Pol. I’ve never had a flu vaccine – not sure I’ve ever had flu, just a nasty cold or two, not necessarily every year – and the pneumonia jab definitely doesn’t appeal. I prefer my body to be as pharmaceutical-free as possible.
While OTC medicines taken as and when needed seem to do the trick, pretty well every prescribed medication has had some nasty side effect, often worse than the condition it was designed to treat.
I suppose my biggest fear is losing my marbles, which is why I’m eager to keep on working and why I returned to uni part-time rather than toddle down to the day centre for a nice game of bingo.
As a teacher, I had a ‘flu vaccination every year and have continued this now that I am retired. I am regularly exposed to germy grandkids and I have had very bad ‘flu in the past. I have not had it at all since vaccines, and am willing to have a vaccine every year to avoid it. We also had the shingles shot this year on the advice of a friend who caught it and was extremely ill.
The anti-vax lobby in Australia (related to childhood vaccinations) is causing a big commotion at present. I am a big believer in herd immunity. My own granddaughter nearly died of whooping cough because my dil didn’t “believe ” in vaccinations. She changed her tune very quickly.
We should not throw the baby out with the bathwater. Approach every medical intervention well informed. P
Oh, PVE, don’t misunderstand me – I, too, believe in herd immunity. Any parent who doesn’t wish to vaccinate her kid and depends on the rest if us should be forced to. My son is an environmental health officer, specialising in health and safety. He has fallen out with a friend over this.
Having said that, flu injections are only offered to over-60s here, other than health professionals. And I’ve only had flu twice in my life. I am eligible for the shingles shot now, as it’s been brought down a year.
It’s my fear of macular degeneration which drives me. I would have an injection or take pills if that could be prevented! Life without reading would not be worth it.
Pol. 🙋🏼
When I was teaching, I resisted getting the flu vaccine for myself — the formula is their best guess one year ahead of which virus will be prevalent. Happily for me, I haven’t had the flu for decades and rarely get a cold. I did submit to the pneumonia vaccine, and now that I’ve had the 2 of them, won’t need it again. Shingles vaccine in the Fall, which luckily the insurance will cover, if I jump through some easy hoops.. Am adamant about mandatory jabs for children. A friend who taught autistic children had been convinced of the link to vaccines. If that’s the case, how do we explain autism cases 150 years ago? PVE, i’ve seen articles about the anti-vac issues in your country. Glad you excluded the American speaker who promotes that foolishness.
What worries me is Alzheimer’s: both my parents died with it. So if Fasting will give me new brain cells then i’m all for it!
Thanks, Herma, for you kind words about my blog. Glad you find it useful. Working on the blog keeps me out of the Senior Center, for sure.
This morning for the first time we had the Zucchini ScrOmelette featured yesterday. WOW was it good. OD Husband was raving about it. I recommend it.
Pol, isn’t a glass of wine a day GOOD for us? It must be true — i read it on the internet!
Stuffed zucchini tonight for dinner — ODH was asking for it, and now is the time for zucchini. Happy Fasting.
Fasting, a glass of wine has to be good! I’m maintaining on a glass a day – thankfully. I do intend to have a few days off wine, but I find myself opening a bottle. I don’t eat biscuits or crisps etc and I still have chocolate in the fridge from April and my single Hershey bar in my bedside drawer.
While I intended to have the odd dessert with custard when out for a meal, I find I haven’t even been tempted other than on very rare occasions. IF is such a WOL that I now choose a starter and main, rather than main and pudding. Must have the wine, though! 😀
OH is stuck again this week. He’s not obviously cheated, although one portion of spaghetti was too generous. Frustrating.
Pol.
While looking online for interesting fast-day dishes containing ingredients I need to use up, with cals already calculated (essential for mathematically-challenged me) I came across this link
https://thebloodsugardiet.com/
Of course, many maintainers may already be aware of it but it’s new to me. I have the impression that many of the recipes, some provided by readers, don’t feature in the BSD cookbook, which I already own.
I’m only interested in the recipes – tonight’s looks very promising: https://thebloodsugardiet.com/recipes/salmon-avocado-salad-with-quinoa/, but can also join an online BSD programme which includes all sorts of support. However, since it costs in the region of 100 quid I can’t see it as any great advantage to experienced maintainers. Of course, you can always buy the books second hand from Amazon – the one explaining the BSD and the recipe book each at under £4 + pp.
Hi folks, it’s my 7 month targetversary today, and i am pleased to say I am still going strong. I am still tweaking my maintenance plan, and currently do 2 800 calorie fast days or 2 days not calorie counted but with just one meal and no snacking (usually Monday and Thursday) two high exercise days with calories just under TDEE at 1800 or 2 meals only, no snacking, with one ‘meal’ being a homemade protein drink packed with superfoods and good fats on Tuesday and Wednesday, and three more indulgent days, usually Friday – Sunday where I can eat or drink anything I like, but try to keep the BSD unfriendly white carbs to once a day only. So far I have seen no sign of the weight starting to pile back on as it always used to so this seems to be working. I have just come back from a weeks holiday with no fasting, and far too many desserts though so am a couple of pounds higher than I like, but I know when I get back to my routine they will go again, and if they don’t I can just do an extra fast day.
Morning, all. Your maintenance plan seems quite complicated, Mix. I find 16:8 every day, but avoiding most carbs, works for me. I do have pasta about once a week, just a reduced portion compared to the old days. Wholemeal pasta I just cannot take. I also weigh every day, so any indulgence is remedied immediately.
Confession, though! First away game of the rugby season, so I had my Saturday of peace. Did the crosswords, a bit of cleaning then I opened the packet of Galaxy Counters which have been in the fridge since Easter. Yummy! I ate the blooming lot!
Didn’t have my Saturday ice cream later as a penance. Weight ok, thankfully.
Pol 🙋🏼!
Good morning from Cumbria
Catching with the posts on here this morning whilst enjoying a cup of earl grey tea and that soft boiled eggs with griddled asparagus soldiers sound a great option for brunch later today but I also love poached eggs with a set white and runny yolk and these definitely need a slice of a good sourdough bread!!!!
Congratulations on your 7th month targetversary @mixnmatch 😇 I’m just entering my 10th month of maintenance – my target was 55kg but it seems to have crept to nearer 54kg by default – I don’t want to lose any more weight either but would love to flatten my tummy a bit more and lose an inch from my waist – I do pilates x 1, yoga x 2, aerobics x 1 and go hiking x 2/3 times a week. As I mentioned before I started a 5 min mixed plank challenge in August and am planning on continuing this, slowly increasing the time I can hold each position and will measure my waist and hip to see if my ratio has improved after 3 months. I do a minimum of 16:8 on my NFD and my 2 x FD are anything from zero cals over 40hrs to anything under 500cals in the same time frame. The water fast is for long term health reasons not weight loss and I try to make up any calorie deficit on my NFD so as not to lose any more weight….
The great thing about this WOL as we have all discovered a bad day does not a bad week make – we can still have the odd overindulgence and not feel guilty!!!
I’m with the wine drinkers 🍷it is my one vice I’m not prepared to give up but have compromised and don’t drink every day now but enjoy a couple of glasses on probably 4 days a week most week – if I have over indulged I may do the odd week alcohol free.
Life is good and I am happy to report that my knee is finally getting back to normal – still have the odd twinge but nothing like before so have increased the length and heights of my walks in the fells around here. DD is also rediscovering her love of the outdoors since moving up here, and her OH has played a big role in this and I’m so glad to see her looking so happy and enjoying her life ☺️
My friend from down south has just had her second round of chemo and is starting to feel the effects, hair loss, tiredness and lethargy – hoping it is kicking those cancer cells in her body into submission.
@hermajtomomi – any news on the house front? a good friend is also in the throes of trying to sell and move – she has found a nice cottage in Palgrave which is an attractive Suffolk village situated 1 mile inside the Norfolk and Suffolk border, close to the market town of Diss in the middle of rural East Anglia. Her friends worry is that it is a bit isolated and well away from most of her friends who live in or around Bury St Edmunds – she is hoping that her buyer does not pull through and that the seller of her intended new home agrees to the offer she has made……fingers crossed for her and you too
OH has gone out for a 12mile run with some fellow mad fell runners – I’m going to do some work in our garden that seems to have turned into a forest lately…….
Happy Sunday to all and to enjoying life to the full
Thanks for asking, AT, but because things are taking so long our vendors, who so far have been very nice and cooperative, are beginning to lose patience. Understandably, since they need to sell before they can buy and we have no idea how much of a chain they are involved in.
The problem is the lease extension on our current flat. Until now, I had no idea that with a so-called shared freehold there was an underlying lease, which in our case has only 54 years to run – anything under 60 years is deemed unacceptable. We and the residents of the other two flats in the building have signed and delivered all the necessary documents to extend the lease to 999 years, ready for them to be lodged at the Land Registry. For a number of boring and annoying reasons to do with our and our buyers’ lenders, our solicitors have not yet been able to lodge them. Not good news, because the Land Registry is famous for moving very, very slowly. There’s still a chance the whole thing could go pear-shaped.
Hope your friend has better luck. As for friends worrying, surely the lady is mature and sensible enough to judge whether she will be isolated or not. According to the village website, Palgrave is within walking distance of Diss – although I’m assuming she is a driver otherwise she wouldn’t be looking at a rural village – which has good road and rail connections to Bury.
AT, you always come up with something pithy. I love that thought – a bad day does not a bad week make!
For me, the key is weighing at least every other day. I know dieters are told not to do this as they can be discouraged, but common sense should help.
Herm, that’s a real bummer! Hope everything works, but it must be stressful again! I wonder if my word for a problem will escape fllter. Off to make a veg moussaka, as daughter and partner coming for dinner.
Pol
A bummer indeed, Pol. On what could be regarded as the more positive side, the stress has made huge inroads into my appetite and full-on fasting is becoming a way of life, apart from the regular multi-vitamins and Co-enzyme Q10. Another 4.5 kilos and I’m no longer overweight, although I could do without waking up in the morning feeling yuck.
I stand at the fridge, the freezer and the food cupboards wondering what I can bear to eat – 9 times out of 10 it’s nothing, washed down by a cup of tea. Sometimes in the evening I’ll find I can handle a sandwich made of multi-grain and seed bread, lean protein and salad. Having eaten nothing else during the day, I’m still well within my calorie limit. Fortunately, OH is a competent cook and well able to look after himself. It gives him a chance to prepare pasta, for which I’ve rather lost the taste.
On the odd occasion I do feel like eating a proper meal I try to make it as nutritious as possible, e.g. tonight I’m planning Mediterranean veggies with lamb, a favourite fast day dish from Beeb Good Food at less than 300 cal a throw. Hopefully my share won’t have to be consigned to the freezer for a future date.
So so sorry to hear about the housing issue hermaj 😞Hard to believe.
Love the sound of the Mediterranean veg and meat, might look that one up myself.
I rather love cookbooks and bought one on order through my local bookshop on recommendation from a friend. It’s ‘Persiana’ by Sabrina Ghayour. It cost me $40 and I don’t like it, wish I’d never bought it!!!
I love Persian food but this just doesn’t inspire me at all. Oh well. 😞
I’ve also ordered ‘First Bite’, the book FFS was speaking of and am hopeful I will find that more interesting.
Hope it all works out with the house hermaj.💐
I had just looked it up Carol! ☺☺
Thanks Herm….I have all the ingredients so will whip it up for us after our fast today.
Fingers crossed re the lease holdup 😯
Pol, I’m a great believer in daily weights. That way you can monitor with the knowledge of normal body fluctuations.
Monday here…must get moving. P ☺☺
Good morning, all. Coincidentally Persiana was on offer from Amazon yesterday. I didn’t buy it. We have good Turkish and Greek recipe books and I’d say most of Mimi’s recipes seem to be med-based. Spices have become far more common in recipes now. K
The veg moussaka I did yesterday was originally from a weight watchers book. However, I roasted the veg Mimi style, with cumin and mustards seeds etc. The original recipe didn’t even have garlic! OH cooked a joint of some sort of pork. Went down well!
This is going to be a difficult week, two lunches out and two dinners ditto!
Herm, I hope things work out for you soon. Whilst it’s great the you’re happy with your weight, it’s worrying that you have so little appetite. Look after yourself. M
Off to a U3A talk on ‘When we went to,the pictures’ now. Nostalgia fest! 👏
Hermaj,
Sorry to hear your moving problems continue. It will all come good in the end, but do look after yourself in the meantime though!
Carol,
I’ve just bought a couple of new cookbooks too, Lebanese and Middle Eastern vegetarian. There are some nice recipes, some of which will lend themselves to a side dish of meat (for OH), but no real ‘wow’ moments so far. I guess it just goes to show how far middle eastern and Mediterranean flavours have already infiltrated my cooking.
I’m fasting today too. I ate far too much soda bread over the weekend for comfort. Difficult time to fast though as I currently have a glut of tomatoes, cucumber, courgette, beans and corn on the cob!
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27 Aug 17