Hi Happy

Did your pie contain wheat? Have you experimented with substituting ground almonds or any of the lovely grains for wheat flour? If so, did you still get the bloat? Hope normal transmission returns for you tomorrow.

Cheers, Bay 🙂

Hi Bay. Nice to hear from you.
The pie contains a relatively small quantity of wheat flour. It’s heavier on sugar….

We don’t really eat puddings or sweets. Nuts tend to be the after dinner snack of choice. But I am going to have a go at wheat (and sugar) free puds and biscuits.

I know excess refined carbs in the evening have always caused bloating, but recently I’ve also experienced low abdominal/ upper leg pain in the night. May be coincidence, but I do feel better without bread and pasta.

Hi Auriga. I’ve just started reading Fat Chance, which appears to suggest I can’t claim successful maintenance until I’m maybe 2 years in! Gulp.

Hi Auriga
The peepers need a break from close work. Off to play golf this afternoon. Will try to restrain myself to only twice a week peak at threads. Trouble is you’re all so darn interesting and nice 🙂 hehe. Bay 🙂

G’day Timbo!
I like whole of life..it really is!!
I figure if people can keep the weight on( eating too much) it should be easier to keep the weight off…you do less…. eating!
I think because this WOE isn’t costing us money (except clothes) it is not controlled by big business. It was always in the interests of these companies that people gained weight again.

Call me cynical. …..
P 😉

Well done and welcome Ron
You will be a match for our energetic Happy and iwill. Give them a run for their money.
All power to you. PVE

Morning Auri
Can’t talk. ..cooking up a beef casserole while the rain pours down! Yeah! Should have picked the herbs earlier 🙁
Have a happy day. P

Yes Sylvia I thought the same. Our age and so much to live for. I just can’t understand depression and I know a few with it. We can give them love and support but they can only help themselves eventually.

I’m trying to use up things in the freezer to allow for the houseguests. I love the challenge of cooking with whatever is available. The oven is warming the house. I’ll rustle up some gf apple crumbles using sunflowers, coconut, walnuts, honey and a few oats. That’ll go down a treat on this wet wintery evening.

Michael’s documentary was reshown last night and the forum has gone mad with people starting. Fantastic!

SO exciting to be a grandparent Sylvia. You’ll love it. My little treasures are the lights of my life. Worth being young and healthy for. P xx.

Welcome Tim and Ron… Really like the idea of the Whole of Life.. so not dumb at all 😀

PVE and Bayleaf.. Look after your eyes…. might give the rest of us to keep up with this thread !!! 😉

Re the 7/8% only keeping the weight off.. that was before the IF strategy.. Here’s hoping that science of fasting and exercise means more will be successful in not only loosing the weight but keeping it off and staying healthy longer generally.

I am also mourning the loss of Robin Williams.. he was a genius … Just love him in Good Morning Vietnam especially. Brings home the importance of mental health .. as well as the body the mind is soo important…

Re Scottish Descriptions.. here goes..

Lunchtime walk up the hill behind office..

dripping wet.. had been raining hard all morning.. cloud hanging around the top of the Mast Hill (AKA Craig Dunain) above Inverness.. smell of wet pine .. with the sound of dripping and running water. Paths mm well my ramble turned into a scramble when I took a wrong turn and lost the safety of the slick landrover track… scrambling up needle coated mud and rock. Startled a roe buck. Breathed (panting) sigh of relief on hitting another landrover track. Slid back down the hill on the relative safety of semi washed out landrover track.

Auriga wishing you well with the move. Your bread / cake recipe looks great.. might have a go at that one.

Supper today.. salmon big salad of fennel, beet, celery and onion.. and leaves.. and purple broccoli.. and broadbeans. yummy… berries to come (raspberries, strawberries and blueberries..) pleased with both my scramble today and feeding routine of skipping breakfast and lunch.. and no picking at all during the day..

Tomorrow will be testing.. long day in busy office and then I have Red Cross training (volunteer) so need to be able to keep going. So my idea is pot of Guacamole, with sticks of celery and carrot to dip.. fruit and debating whether to take in some of the Quorn veg curry from the weekend as well as wont get home between work and Red Cross. Team leader is threatening with bacon buttie AM as have picked up some work from colleague whose on emergency leave at mo.

My aim for the day is not eat over my TDEE.. which is a bit hard as not sure now what my TDEE is.. Think I might go into boots and get weighed so I can guesstimate what that figure might be ..!!! This is the downside of using size as an indicator rather than weight.. wish someone would come up with a formula for TDEE based on waist / height ratio..

Hi All.

Auriga, the bread/cake looks yummy. Thought I’d got everything for it… but no flax seeds. Ah well, another day! Does it freeze?

Tim. Good effort on weight loss and keeping it off. That makes you exceptional quite clearly!

Ron. Interesting that you were gaining and losing so much each year while exercising so much. Was the gain linked to a reduction in training/ off season?
What racing are you doing now, out of interest?
I’ve been off my bike for a couple of years now, but new bike and 2 stone lighter…. no more excuses!

Iwi. Not sure what you described counts as a lunchtime walk!
I’ve also thought about going to Boots for a proper weigh, but would want to be scantily clad (not naked like PVE!)….Clothes weigh surprisingly heavy!

PVE. Your crumble reminds me! Dad has lost 1lb this week, not bad considering he has moved from cheesecake to apple crumble and cream, and wine, on his fast days! I’m sure Michael and Mimi would be horrified if they knew Dad was telling people he’s doing 5:2! He’s doing 2 days of something, but ‘5:2’ it ain’t! It’s working though!

PVE.. yup covered in mud.. hopefully not ticks.. the hill is infested with the little critters…

Happy Now your Dad is brill.. crumble and cream for a fast day … If he can eat Crumble and Cream on a fast day do you reckon I could do the bacon buttie on a non fast day.. ??? even if PVE deeply disapproves? 😉 Agree about the apples tho’.. 😀

Re the TDEE ummmmm from my fasting diary I had 1750 as my TDEE (sedentary) at 12 stone. assuming I’m hovering around the 13 stone and not sedentary that raises it even further.. Doesn’t it? … all my fast day meals were calculated on the basis of a quarter of 1750 TDEE and they seemed to work… Think I will walz into Boots … dare me to do it naked 😉 .. and get weighed.

PS welcome Dave… great to have pretty muched shed your load 😀

PPS re new goals that’s pretty much what I’ve done.. mostly about getting fitter.. 😀

I LOVE your dad Happy 😉

G’day Tiny Dave! Great to hear from you again. We missed you. So pleased you have stayed on this WOL.

iwb, I never disapprove of people eating bacon.. especially with cheese!!! I always used 1600 as my TDEE even when I was 85kg. You are currently 82 kg. I prefer to set it low, basically at the level you want to be at your goal, not what your body thinks it wants to maintain the larger body. Both OH and I have found this works for us. When he uses TDEE calculators they come in much too high for him to maintain his youthful bod as well. Horses for courses, but this method has worked for us to go from obese to comfortably in the healthy range in 12 months and to maintain since April 14. Enjoy your muddy scrambles…sounds like one of my crazy “let’s go for a little walk” adventures! P 🙂

Hello everyone, I reached my goal weight a few weeks ago and was thinking about switching over to Maintenance, only problem was I was about to go on holidays. I was very nervous about maintaining my 5:2 while on holidays and in the end it was just too difficult to do. People were cooking for me and I just thought it was a bit rude to say I’m not eating. However I did explain 5:2 and enrolled a couple of family members in trying it. I was away for 11 days, staying with friends and family. Lots of eating out, drinking wine etc. I tried to keep my portions smallish but still ate a lot more than what I would normally on a 5:2 week. After 11 days I found my clothes felt exactly the same but I thought my midriff had started to fill out a bit. I didn’t weigh myself when I got home because I was sure I had gained weight and I knew that would depress me. I went straight onto 5:2 when I got home and dropped another kg in 3 weeks. Then we headed OS for six weeks and I knew I would have to do at least 6:1 to avoid weight gain. So I’m here on holiday now and have done one 5:2 in the last two weeks. I feel fine and No noticeable weight gain but it’s early days. Hoping now to stick to 5:2 (if I have eaten a lot) or 6:1 if it’s been a not too bad week. Will let you know how I get on over the next month. Cheers Carol

Hi everybody, I hate to jump on the bandwagon but I too am having “eye problems” started off with an allergy to a new contact lense solution which resulted in me looking like Lucifer, my eyes were sooo red and itchy and are taking days to calm down. Anyway Friday will be exactly six months since I stared 5:2 and successfully lost 22lbs, been maintaining for around 6 weeks. Am hoping to lose another 3lbs taking me to 125lbs, am currently 128lbs and 58kgs, but I’m aiming for 8st 13lbs in British measurements which is under 9st – 125lbs. Big celebrations in Greece this week – Friday 15th August is known as “Payigyria” celebrating the Virgin Mary’s assumption into heaven. It is a major feast day in Greece. Thankfully Greek feasts always incorporate copious amounts of spit roasted lamb and feta salads so healthy choices won’t be difficult. Next week I’m off to Kalamata for a few days so postings might be a bit sparse. Good luck with the move Auriga, best wishes sent to you in your new home. Sent from a scorching hot Greece. XX

Hi all
Just come in from gardening to have a solo girlie evening watching Dirty Dancing with a good red and some Wesley Dale cheese. Mmmmm Eat drink and be merry for tomorrow I fast 😉
Sorry to hear you are experiencing eye issues too Elaine. ..we can’t win. I hope it improves quickly.
Have a happy day. P

Sorry, Purple Vegie Eater, forgot to acknowledge you 🙂

Ah well yet more recruits to the maintainance thread.. 😀 Hi Carol sounds like you managed your hols well.. hols are for enjoyment and wouldn’t be the same without some indulgence.. 😉

Elaine look after your eyes … they are priceless 🙂

Well I did find a tick.. so far just the one little critter… didn’t get a chance to go for lunchtime scramble and now feeling quite shattered after 9 and half hours glued to my desk .. urghhh

I did do my morning routine first thing.. 100 step ups, 30 lunges and 50 star jumps.. so not entirely sedentary.. was ravenous by the time I got into work so had an apple and then of course the bacon butty which was was good.. but quite small so a nice treat without going overboard. Then had another apple early afternoon and then at about 4pm munched on Guacamole and raw carrots and celery sticks.. finished off with berry medley as per last night, shamefully at my desk whilst finishing off some work. Dashed off to Red X training.. and have just got home and noshed on some left over steamed veg and feta cheese.

Tomorrow WILL get out at lunchtime and am debating whether to go for spanish omlette (substituting courgettes instead of the potatoes) or stir fry prawns.. or there is still the quorn curry.. but that’s tomorrow.. am heading for bed in half an hour as pretty tired.

Hi Iwi, I’m impressed with your morning routine. I’m hoping your presence on the thread will spur me on to introduce more rigour into my own regime! However athough I do get up quite early, I’m not really a morning person…

I did have a run today though. Took my car to the garage, and ran home, probably about 3 miles.

No fasting, not even 16:8, today. Too much cheese this evening, but hey, I’m actually 4kg below my original goal so plenty of wriggle room! Although obviously not so much that my new clothes don’t fit….

Hi all
Iwill, I love the image of you trouping down the street naked in Inverness. There will be salespeople from all those tartan shops whipping out to offer you colourful cover! I didn’t realise you would have ticks too….pretty obvious really. We have had an infestation of them here lately. Bandicoots (little marsupials that dig holes in gardens) bring them into grassy areas in suburbia. Urrgghhh…then there are the leeches when it has been raining. 🙁

Hi Carol, I have experienced similar issues when I change my fasting routine. I have fallen so well into my Monday/Thursday routine that I can’t do it any other day now. So, as I’m maintaining, I do a halfhearted one on the proper day rather than change. For example, I had a lunch to attend last Monday, so I skipped dinner Sunday night, ate no breakfast and very light dinner Monday and had the lunch. Mind you, I left most of the food as I didn’t feel hungry. Tuesday morning I was not hungry. Just ate carefully.

I’m about to be sharing my house over the next month and was away with family last week. I eat salads and skip breakfast with others around. No one needs to notice. A lettuce, tomato and a little ham salad fills you up, takes time to eat and people think you are eating a meal.

Come on Happy…get moving…Iwillbe is showing you up!

Hope all is going well with the shift, Silvia. Remember, don’t unpack unless you are desperate. Camping at home is fun! P 🙂

Well Auriga it’s the big day today, the culmination of all those week’s of packing. The Move! I know you won’t see this today, but here’s hoping it all goes smoothly for you.

From reading the forum it’s interesting to note that some people have embraced intermittent fasting more than others. On this thread, everyone seems to realise and accept that maintaining a healthy weight depends upon healthy eating, portion size control, and offsetting overeating/calorific food with light eating/meal skipping. Like PVE, eating light before/ after a meal out. Do you enjoy that meal less or more because you ate sensibly round it? I enjoy it more, because it’s guilt-free – there’s no, ‘I really shouldn’t have a pudding..’; I’m making a calorie deficit around it so I can have my cake and eat it!

It seems strange to me that some people aren’t willing to let go of old eating habits (when those habits are inherently unhealthy), only do 5:2 so they can carry on overeating cr*p, and even then resent fasting because for them it is deprivation, albeit intermittent! I suspect without the mental acceptance of what it takes to stay slim we won’t see those people on the maintenance thread… or at least not for long!

Good luck Auriga – you must be a jumble of emotions this morning – but, wow, a new home how exciting. Hope the move today isn’t too stressful. Best wishes:-)
HappyNow, I agree with everything you say, only by embracing, and accepting the neccessity, of the new eating habits will long term slimness be a reality for always. I have found that the discipline involved during fast days or 16/8 opens a new completely window of mindfulness around food. I no longer overeat nor snack. I enjoy what I do eat so much more, and I’m very careful with my choices of food. Because I’m not eating unconsciously anymore – I only eat at mealtimes and listen out for when I feel full and stop, I want what food I do eat to be healthy and satisfying and I enjoy and relish my food so much more. I no longer feel nervous that I will re-gain the weight, I’m totally confident that I’ve cracked it. It’s been wonderful enjoying this summer without the feeling of low self esteem that feeling fat and overweight gives one – I no longer feel the need to sit on the beach hiding behind a towel I’m strutting my stuff now baby and don’t it feel good:-) Happy summer everybody:-)

Hi Happy

Totally endorse your sentiments re not wanting cr*p food and people resenting fasting. And yours too, Purple. I enjoy my fast days, and I love my feeling of being in control over my food intake. For instance, I chose to fast today, so that I can have a Corona and fresh fish n chips tomorrow.

Thanks to Dr M for publicising the research that led to 5:2 as a healthy WOL.

Cheers, Bay 🙂

So it seems we’re all pretty much in agreement about enjoying the fast, re-educating eating habits, being happy that we now eat less/ feel full/ don’t over-eat, actually want high quality high nutrient food rather than cr*p, need to offset eating more with eating less etc.

So why is it that we are we able to accept that this is a sustainable wol and actively embrace it, when others continue to rail against it as a restriction/curtailment of their god-given right to eat whatever they want, as much as they want, whenever they want?

When you know that you are overweight/ unhealthy because of your food choices, why would you continue to make those same food choices (particularly when someone shows you that there is another way, and actually lots of people are happy that way)?

Hi HappyNow

I don’t fit the criteria for this thread but as you stated; If I feel I have something to contribute I too will just jump in with it.

Wow – I feel you are making some seriously smug statements lately about this WOL. You are beginning to sound as if you know best for every single person who has attempted the fast diet.

What specifically do you mean when you keep referring to ’cr*p’ foods?

Then you go on to ask:

“So why is it that we are we able to accept that this is a sustainable wol and actively embrace it, when others continue to rail against it as a restriction/curtailment of their god-given right to eat whatever they want, as much as they want, whenever they want?”

I suspect it is much easier for the folk on here to adhere to the eating format you describe because you have all lost your desired weight and ‘you’re all alright Jack!‘

You have said in the same vein:-

“It seems strange to me that some people aren’t willing to let go of old eating habits (when those habits are inherently unhealthy), only do 5:2 so they can carry on overeating cr*p, and even then resent fasting because for them it is deprivation, albeit intermittent! I suspect without the mental acceptance of what it takes to stay slim we won’t see those people on the maintenance thread… or at least not for long”

Personally I think if you carry on making statements in that kind of vein a lot of right minded people won’t want to come onto this thread in the first place!

It’s funny, though I have to be the first to say, there is no way I have the time or inclination to read EVERY single post on this forum but; I am not aware of people who say they ’resent’ fasting….if they ‘resent’ fasting why follow the WOL in the first place? Perhaps you could elaborate how you have become aware of these ‘people’?

You lost a considerable amount of weight in a short period of time; did you eat a lot of, as you not so nicely put it, ‘cr*p’ before you went on to the fast diet?

Did you then completely change your eating habits to, for example, the kind of regime Purple and Bayleaf follow? You might have said that somewhere on this thread but I don’t normally read it, however your recent contentious posts drew my attention.

Do you have any health issues that might interfere with losing weight and having enough energy to exercise more or are you fortunate enough to enjoy good health?

And we know from previous ‘conversations’ that you are only 45yrs old; do you think you might be in peri-menopause yet? Of are you lucky enough to have not hit that stage of life yet?

Booxx

Hi Boo,

I appear to have inadvertently offended you?

I’m sorry if you think me smug. I cannot help be pleased with myself, that IF suits me so well, and I have lost my excess weight so easily. There are a lot of people struggling for a whole host of reasons, but new joiners need to know it won’t necessarily be hard?

And I am genuinely interested to know why it has suited me and the other maintainers, but not everyone benefits similarly. I understand you have health issues, but that is not true of everyone. That is why I am asking questions. To better understand.

My comments are based on my experience and my observations. I don’t know best for anyone, probably not even for myself!

I think you have previously commented on the problem of electronic communication without facial expression etc…? I did not set out to upset you, but you appear to have allowed my comments to upset you.

All the best.