Welcome, Mahalo, and well done indeed! At the rate you’re going, you will be successfully maintaining in no time. As others have said, we each have a slightly different way of doing it – sometimes we disagree, but always we find the discussion stimulating and useful. (I’m very grateful for all the water tips: I now have a litre bottle, labelled ‘Pat’ in the fridge, and 2 hourly alarms on the f/b. It’s not water as such that’s the problem – though I really appreciate the Sodastream- just the sheer volume of liquid, but I promise I’ll keep at it.). As Lichtle says, we span all the time zones, plus a lot of the age range and body-shape spectrum; the one thing we all seem to have in common, though, is the continuing habit of fasting – though frequencies and methods differ. We learn from, and encourage, one another. It’s a good gang – welcome!

Yes, I am happy I found and joined this thread 🙂 Feel very welcome here. It’s wonderful to me to see my joy is shared und thus multiplied.

Fastfastslow,
yes, I agree, it is great when people support each other and are able to “bear”/tolerate the differences in opinion and methods. Something that made me withdraw from quite a few forums in this past year was the: “teacher-attitude” some members had towards others as if they knew what was best for someone else. I have a symbol for that: People substitute their lost fat cells by mental/EGO fat cells 😉 (Hope it is okay to write that…) When this comes along with devaluating language I can not stand it and stay. I share my experiences and trust that those who resonate will try others will leave it. Important is the respect, isn’t it. Everybody is his/her own expert. And if they are in need of an expert they will seek one for themselves.

Lichtle,
that is interesting. I have a coaching background and I am always pretty alert when someone coaches or teaches or trains something and is not living up to it himself/herself. Not as a judgement yet as a sign that there is something to learn for the teacher himself/herself. We have a very successful business coach and trainer here who is really dangerously overweight. I’d never book her – even if I had the money – because as a really good coach she would treat herself differently. Okay, that is my perception only. She even wrote books about how great it is to be overweight and “enjoy” food.

Thanks for the good wishes. I will now eat some lunch that is meant to break the fast cautiously: fish and salad and a few potatoes. Can’t wait that it is ready to be eaten 😉

What I love most of the fast approach is the self-love in it. There is so much love in one’s heart and on one’s plate: the conscious eating is pure love for myself as I perceive it. And also was the letting go of old saved energies that never really belonged to my true being or my body.

It was called business coaching and deals with all kinds of issues. Self-management, the so called work-life-balance (I always found this expression weird as if work is something outside of “life”), dealing with certain group dynamics, career issues and so on. I stopped it, though (for personal reasons). Don’t know whether I will return to it one day. You never know. I loved the work itself yet not the conditions.

Hi gang

Thought I’d go back to basics and check calories (I haven’t actually recorded them for ages and I didn’t plan to do it, so it is honest) 🙂 Yesterday was a feed day. I ate about 1500 cals (that cupcake WAS gorgeous)and burned 1850, so no issue.

But I thought I’d reassess the treats I choose these days on feed days. Oops!

1 Brazil nut and 1 Medjool date ..99 calories… and I NEVER have only 1 🙁
Corn Thin with butter and Vegemite … 67… ditto re quantity 🙁
2 little veg patties and hummus …58… quite filling and yum
An apple … 80… boring but filling and good jaw workout
2 strawberries and a tsp of yoghurt … 60… tasty but not very satiating
Homemade veg soup …50 …. very sustaining, but doesn’t travel well 🙁

It’s very easy to go overboard with even healthy snacks. I’ll put this list on the fridge as a reminder. Always vigilant. That’s the way to go.

Happy fasting folk 🙂 P

Hi Ladies,

Carol,
thank you so much for your response. Yes, I will experiment and I have this red mini-skirt that I melted into in seven months from the day I bought it via Ebay, it is my scales for daily observation 😉

Lichtle,
hope I did not write anything that sounded offensive? Vielleicht kam es schräg rüber, was ich im Zusammenhang mit der Schwägerin geschrieben habe? Das täte mir sehr leid. English is not my mother-tongue and sometimes things may sound differently than I intend them to.

iSabella and all who like healthy cakes, here comes a SPEED-CAKE recipe: my absolute favorite cake. I bake it often and eat two pieces as a full lunch-meal with raspberries on feast days. The ingredients contain healthy fat and this cake makes me really happy, honestly 🙂 For me it’s good-mood-pastry. I call it 3-Nuts-Speed-Cake. Speed because you can make it quickly 😉

You need:
4 eggs, 500 g quark (low fat), 250 g mixed nuts (of course you can also take only one kind – I like to mix three), cinnamon, peel of an organic lemon, 100 g whole wheat flour, 50 g brown sugar, 2 tablespoons honey.

You seperate yolk and egg white. Beat the egg white until stiff. Then you mix yolk, lemon peel, cinnamon (as desired), quark, flour, nuts – my favorite mix is almond, walnut and cashew flour – sugar, honey. Finally you fold the egg white in carefully. Then all is put into a springform baking tin (coated with baking paper). 180 ° C, 30 – 40 minutes. It’s possible to freeze it. I like it best when it’s fresh, though.

It’s a freestyle recipe. It varies a bit depending on the kind of nuts you put in. Basically the whole cake is about 2878 kcal. Again the whole cake contains: 172,2 g fat (from the nuts and eggs, thus healthy kind of fat), 172,5 g carbs, 142,8 g protein. Better you recheck those for your personal recipe.

Have a lovely day all
M

23 hours into my Thursday fast. Have to read the c*ke recipe tomorrow.
Planning a fast dinner of lettuce, fennel, carrot, capsicum, chili and orange segments with a dressing of lime, lemongrass and ginger, 50g each of gravlax over the top. Have to wait until Mr P arrives home…hope he’s soon 🙂

I thought of our discussion. a while back. about eating on trains, Fast. With my new iPod earphones in and reading my Kindle, the only sense available to me in the train was smell. Heightened by no food since yesterday, it is interesting how many aromas permeated my ‘cone of fasting’. The most difficult one proved to be a black coffee held in someone’s hands behind me. P

Sounds familiar L. I was better off when still trying to lose weight as I had no naughties to tempt me in the house. I’m convinced dates and Brazil nuts are the work of the devil. 🙁
A whole punnet of strawberries is a good choice. I can think of a lot worse!

Substitute Purple for Purchase Le please people! Honestly we could have a whole new vocabulary happening with all these auto corrects! 🙂

Hey All,

I understand about the sugar cravings. However, I use a lot of stevia. Have any of you tried it? If so, what do you think of it? I still have sugar, but way less of it. I also have meal cards I’ve made up that I rotate with meal plans for my differing TDEEs (depending on activity level, fasting, and refeeding). I think I’d be lost without them, but at the same time I don’t rigidly stick to them. I generally consider the meal plans a starting point, but when you have calories listed for each food on the card (as I do) it’s relatively easy to make substitutions and stay within that day’s TDEE. Just a thought. I hope this makes sense and is helpful.

Jayney

Oh well there’s only 13g of protein in an egg so I’m not having much at all, but I also have some protein with my lunch on a FD.

Blow. I forgot the sauerkraut tonight. 🙁 It always adds lovely colour to the plate.

I would prefer to reduce my sugar intake completely to using a substitute like stevia. Isn’t it better to develop a taste for less sweet foods?

My biggest issue with sleep on a fast night is having to get up to pee, especially in winter, which it is here. If I eat more, I know this is not a problem, but once I have done a good fast all day it seems a pity to eat much in the evening.

Don’t know your sour milk cheese, Mahalo, sounds interesting I’ll research it. I make our yoghurt and kefir.

Must go to bed early. Dream about breakfast, that I usually don’t feel like in the morning, anyway 🙂 Cheers P

Thank you,@Jayney, you are obviously a very organised girl. ;-)) and I totally applaud and envy your approach and your card system, but it does not fit into my life or maybe it isn’t me. I don’t cook much (DH does) and if he isn’t around, which happens often, I just finish off what is in the fridge. I am not one of those people who need beautifully decorated plates — I don’t think I eat with my eyes like most people. – I am a peasant, really…. ;-))

I appreciate your kind advice Jayney, about Stevia and I even have some at home. I should probably use it more and certainly will use it for Mahalo’s recipe. Years ago, I used to bake a lot but not anymore; therefore I don’t use much sugar in cooking. It is the ready-made stuff like jams, ice creams, chocolates, etc. that seem to catch me out. I am a bit weary with sugar substitutes as, it only deals with the calories and not with the cravings. Also, I have read somewhere that when we consume artificial sweetener, that the body still reacts with insulin as if real sugar had been consumed.

@mahalo, I used to do food combining and I loved it and it worked for me in my forties. It also eliminated sugar cravings for me and I felt great, but I could never sustain it for a very long time. But I still come back to it occasionally, if I feel very health conscious and like making everything from scratch and of course all fast days are in effect food combining as I only eat protein and vegetables). Also, because of the fruit rule (eat alone) I got used to just having fruit for breakfast mid morning, so when I started 5:2, I didn’t find it difficult to skip breakfast altogether. I think 5:2 and food combining are very compatible.
Mahalo, I haven’t come across Harzer Cheese here in England either but we can get Quark here, now.

@mahalo, here in England the water comes out of a tap. ;-)) no carrying necessary ;-))

Sorry, I have never heard of Phil Potts and have to look up lib biking. ;-(

@mahalo ;-)) thanks.

Hi All,

Wow, busy busy thread! I only turned my back for a minute…!

Mahalo, hi! I was really interested in your WTF fast experience. I’m going to have to try it myself sometime. I’ve never heard of your cheese either, but I do love my cheese… I’m not sure we have anything similar.

Which brings me onto maintainers’ snacks… You really don’t want to know, Isabella! I eat nuts (and cheese) in large quantities. No ‘half a brazil nut’ or ‘5 almonds’ here… I don’t count calories, best not to know!

Jayney, re: sugar substitutes. I don’t. I’d rather not be eating and then craving sweet things constantly, so I’m happy to stick with real sugar on an occasional basis.

Everyone else… Night!

Hi Mahalo,

It’s great to hear you’re aware of your protein intake. I generally end up having over 45 grams of protein on fast days, and at least 40 grams the rest of the week. You’re right to be concerned about it–especially because you’re so active. Well done!

Lichtle, just FYI, although stevia might be used as a sugar substitute it isn’t an artificial sweetener. It’s a plant, like sugar.

Mahalo, instead of carrying water everywhere you might consider using a water filter. There are pitchers made for this that I use. One reputable company is here (though they only sell in the US and Canada–are Canadian goods available outside the country since Canada is part of the Commonwealth?).

http://www.seychelle.com/

I use the pitcher and have also made a portable water filter using one of the filters they have available, though of course they have water bottles with filters as well. Just a thought.

Also, regarding affirmations, I used to use them. Before I discovered 5:2 I tried hypnosis. I lost 10 pounds in 9 months. It just did nothing for me, but if it works for you that’s great. Also, what I’m learning too is that just because I’ve achieved target weight doesn’t mean all the excess fat is gone–quite the contrary, so your affirmation about that might still be a good one if you’re in a similar position.

I do give myself rewards though. Sometimes I get something like clothes on sale or at a charity shop, or just sit in sauna or the hot tub (I really enjoy this year-round). I recently got two swimsuits on eBay–the one that’s arrived is a petite size 2, the one still to arrive is a petite size 0! Never in a million years would I ever have thought either of these sizes would fit me! For me, things like that build on each other and act as manifest affirmations so to speak.

HappyNow, there seems to be a misunderstanding. I don’t use sugar substitutes either. Many of them are really unhealthy. Stevia isn’t a sugar substitute. It’s a natural plant alternative to sugar, and I occasionally have sugar as well. Just FYI.

Happy day all!

Jayney

I have put the list of snacks and cals on the fridge Mr P is TOTALLY ignoring it!!!! 😉
I have Brita filter for my sourdough and kefir washing. Our tap water is delicious. 🙁
I am at a desirable goal weight but have tummy fat. I blame it on age and childbearing. Some body shape is a fact of life 🙂 P

Hi again ladies,

thanks for the filter recommendation and interesting answers. Uhm, I was not informed about the new ones and happy to read them when entering (maybe I forgot to check the update).

Lichtle, you asked the question I had, too. About the left fat. I have it, too, on my tummy (one child). Do not know my body fat percentage. Was thinking about having it measured at a hospital (about 25 Euro).

A pic of your old times on the fridge… I think the unconscious would like a new pic with your new silhouette better to maintain and stay focused. This would translate: focus on what you like. There was an interesting scientific experiment about people’s behaviour. They compared signs on a meadow in a park and the impact. People significantly followed the sign: “Please use the lanes in this park.” Instead the restraint: “It is forbidden to walk on the meadows.”

FastFastSlow,
enjoy your day! I will have that tomorrow, yippieh! I am looking so forward to it. And, yes, I also wished I had known about feast days and fast days a loooooong time ago.

Jayney,
cool to read about your swimsuits 😀 I can very well imagine how you feel. And relate to that. (Ordered a jeans size 28 a few months ago. Before that I wore 31 – 29.)

Enjoy your week-end, all.

M

Hi Lichtle,

Regarding your question, “How do you determine what is excess fat and what is necessary fat?” I’m not sure if there’s a scientific way to do that or not. I’ll have to ask at the gym. However, what I’m talking about is mostly on my stomach area (though I have very small bat wings as they are called as well). I’m talking about the dimply jiggly stuff (most likely cellulite?). Having never had children, I have no excuse. 😉

With regards to Brita, that is a different brand entirely. I was looking at those before I discovered the Seychelle products. Brita filters out maybe four different contaminants compared to Seychelle’s HUNDREDS. There is absolutely no comparison. Seychelle is available in the U.S. and Canada.

However, if I was in the UK or Europe, I would likely get a British Berkfeld product (here is the company Website: https://www.faireyceramics.com/). These are very pricy, but are also among the best water filters in the world (i.e. they filter out hundreds or more contaminants from the water, while at the same time leaving in good minerals our bodies need). Sorry, but I’m pretty passionate about having as clean water as possible.

Also, I’m with Mahalo that if you have a picture on your fridge, I think your brain might respond better if it is one of how you looked at your THINNEST. This shows your brain your goal. If you have one at your largest, you might confuse your brain into thinking that this is your new goal! Just a thought.

FFS, just to be clear, I’m also not going to run the risk of starving to anorexic weight levels, trying to get rid of belly fat, though I have toyed with the idea of at least finding out more about some sort of NON-INVASIVE procedure done to melt/burst fat cells and allow the body to remove them permanently on its own. However, with all the expenses I’ve incurred from being unemployed, not to mention the dental work, etc. I’ll need to get, this is a very low priority at the moment (yes, we crazy yanks have to pay at least a portion of our health care–even with insurance–that most of us have to pay for as well). The last time I checked (the end of this past May) my body fat percentage was closer to 33% if I did the calculations right (30 pounds out of 108.9). I’m hoping that number has gone down in this amount of time, but I still think it’s a bit high.

Also, what you refer to as a day off is probably what the naturopath I’ve been working with on 5:2 refers to as refeed days. He recommends two a week. I generally use the highest number of the TDEE calculator as a guide, but often go over–usually way over, because those numbers seem a bit low–with great results.

Mahalo, if you go to a gym they can measure your body fat there, just FYI. I’m supposed to have mine done every month, but they’ve been lax. I’ll have to get it done again in August for sure.

Nice catching up with everyone!

Jayney

Hi Jayney – sorry, I should have been clearer: ‘day off’ isn’t just a day off from mindful eating, though it is that, too. When I was working full-time and some more, Friday was always my weekly day off. Now that I’m enjoying a busy retirement, I still try to keep it appointment-free, and if possible DH and I spend it doing something together. We spend lots of time on separate activities, so it’s nice to relax and reconnect. And although we certainly can’t afford to eat out every week, it often involves food in some way or other, even if it’s only coffee and a shared scone out, or some special ingredients cooked at home! Today, being pension pay-day,began with breakfast in a little community cafe – pancakes with bacon and maple syrup – and ended at home with a baked potato and garlicky mushrooms, followed by ice cream. (In between there was a shift at .the local food bank, which is salutary on a day when I’m eating so much, so no outing today, but no housework etc either .). Mega calorific – re feed with knobs on, I guess! The rest of the time -apart from my one fast for maintenance and one ‘light eating but not quite fasting’ day, I try to eat to TDEE, and keep off the sugar, cooking simple, whole foods and eating masses of fruit and veg. The day off is when we relax our standards – but like lots of us on this thread, I’ve discovered that these days I can feel as if I’ve been a real piggy, only to find I’ve eaten half of what I’d have had before. Proof that this WOE resets your appetite for life -as long as you build in regular ‘re-mind and re-boot’ days, as well as ‘re-feed’ ones!

Dear all,

sending you happy vibes all over the globe 🙂 It’s morning here.

FastFastSlow,
I loved reading your lines. Sounds so nice how you and your DH create these days together. Touched me.

PVE,
I think we all know and find what works for us. Some people are more visually wired, others like it better to hear/listen or feel. The Hawaiian Huna philosophy has a principle for this: PONO – Effectiveness is the measure of truth (7th principle). So no matter what we do – if it serves us (and doesn’t harm others) it is perfect. Perfect for us.

Mahalo’s Feast Anniversary Day
I had pancakes and maple sirup for my breakfast. Before I had cycled to the drugstore to feed the computer scales. Taddaaaa! My results after 365 days of my new WON 62.1 kg. 68 cm waist circumference (last year 98 cm).

A little celebration pic from my kitchen table.
http://i292.photobucket.com/albums/mm23/Schneeship/Geschafft%202_zpscbsy2nl6.jpg

The angel with the apple is my anniversary gift 😉

Wishing you a wonder-ful day
I could embrace the world so happy am I 😀

Mahalo

Congratulations @mahalo. Happy Fastiversary, what an achievement and I like your little celebration table into which you invested a lot of thought and joy and you got yourself your weight in shapes. Very funny. I liked your little FRAMED printout from the scales at the pharmacy: ;-)) We believe you!! 😉

Sorry @purple for mis-quoting. As often when you follow a conversation a long time, information gets mixed up.

Like Fast you seem to create wonderful “Meal Events” with DH (with candles), which is wonderful and both your meals sounded simple but delicious, exactly what I prefer, too.

Jayney, I have never heard of any such a procedures but wonder if at your current weight this is really necessary. You are tiny and would a few more pounds be noticeable? I am sure you are beautiful.

For me the problem with any kind of external beauty intervention (including surgery) is not with the procedure itself but with this question, “Will this procedure make me happy and will I then feel beautiful?” I know that like many others I would go straight to my next problem – it is human nature. Where would I stop?

One of the best things about getting older is that whilst we want to look attractive and our best, perfect looks are not as important. Strangely enough I believe it makes us more confident. Don’t get me wrong, I would never criticize anyone – I do understand the pressures women find themselves in. Just my thoughts.

I am going away until next Wednesday and don’t know if I am able to post. Take care.

No probs L. 🙂 P

Hello fellow Maintenancers, I’ve been on holiday for a week in a resort in Thailand. Buffet breakfast, no lunch, dinner and only 1 (if at all) cocktail a day. Scales here say I may have put on a kilo 🙂 but I’m not worrying too much about that. Our next part of the trip will be touring on a motorbike for a week.
Keep up all your good work! X

Hello 🙂

I like to share some observations regarding water fast and my body. Before I have done that 4 day WTF (water tea fast) for the first time in my life I used to have plenty of coffee on my FDs. That kept me going.

Now I have redesigned my (maintenance) Monday fast: I do water fast, no coffee, no food. Just drinking. Yesterday I had about 4 liters. (It is very hot here right now and the biking consumes fluid as well that needs to be refilled.)

The observation I made: I used to be and feel bloated a lot. The WF is obviously letting go of that. Amazing! It is just that the belly volume shrinks on a water-day. I’d have assumed the contrary. But it is not true for me.

On my two single WF so far I also experienced the “wave-feeling” again. Hunger came around midday and stayed for a while. In the evening it was gone. And this morning I was not hungry either. I ate and looked forward to it yet did not “starve”.

As I wrote before I am now following the 3-liter-of-water guideline of this English lady. (With coffee on normal days, none on WF.) Curious how this is going to work for me. So far it is great because of the shrinking bloats 😉

Cheers and a happy (holi)day
M