The Second Annual Silly Season Challenge

This topic contains 391 replies, has 21 voices, and was last updated by thinatlast 6 years, 10 months ago.

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Minka

2:39 am
9 Dec 17
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Hi Thin, My guess is that Adriano Zumbo would never carry over an individual cake creation from one year to the next, no matter how good it tastes and looks! Admittedly I’ll miss the option of the gluten free raspberry cube from Christmas 2017, though I’ll have to settle for these this year:

http://zumbo.com.au/product/call-me-after-eight-individual/

http://zumbo.com.au/product/v8-vanilla-individual/

http://zumbo.com.au/product/decorated-fondant-cake-individual/

…Or I could choose from a selection of gluten free macaroons though there is a French Patisserie located in nearby Murwillumbah that makes out of this world gluten free macaroons that I doubt even Adriano Zumbo could top, so I wouldn’t waste precious Melbourne holiday calories on a Zumbo macaroon!

thinatlast

2:52 am
9 Dec 17
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We had no overweight children in my high school (class of 1974). I wasn’t even familiar with the term obese. There were no obese children in my daughter’s primary school but I don’t know about high school. At that time, we were told that statistically 1 in 4 Australian children were overweight or obese. School canteen offerings were a disgrace and I never allowed DD to buy from them. My walking buddy’s children aged 20 and 21 weigh 130kgs and 110kg respectively. When I visit shopping malls, I would say overweight is the norm. Obese teenagers seem quite comfortable in their skins if their clothing is anything to go by. This is the first generation to outlive its children.

I am grateful that my DD doesn’t have any of the food issues that I had (have). To her, eating is something you have to try and fit into your schedule if you can. She doesn’t eat if she isn’t hungry. She sits at a table for all meals, eats until she is full and regularly leaves food on the plate. Although I still don’t handle food waste, I force myself not to make any comment as her food behaviour is healthier than mine.

Diverdog, I can’t say I look all that good naked. Once I’d lost 23kgs, nothing was in the same place as when last seen. But I know I look good with my clothes on, better than I have for three decades so I’m content with that. I think I am one of those people who looks older with a thin face but I’m healthy on the inside and that’s what counts. I just wish I’d known of this 30 years ago.

P.S. Minka, I was looking for the email containing the photo of the raspberry masterpiece that you’d sent me last year. You were relishing that masterpiece while your OH was wandering around doing something else, can’t recall what now.

P.P.S. LJ, good for you for making the decision that an extra FD is needed and for getting on with it.

CalifDreamer

4:18 am
9 Dec 17
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Thin, my mom used to try to guilt us into finishing everything on our plates by telling us to, “ Think of all the starving children in China!” (Or wherever.) I read somewhere as an adult, “Dump the leftover food in the garbage and send them a check instead!”

My mom grew up during the Depression, with lots of siblings and not always a lot of food. She compensated by always cooking for an army instead of 4 people. It’s a wonder we weren’t heavy as kids. She was the only one who was somewhat overweight. My dad was tall and thin. I always cook more than we’re likely to eat at a meal too. It’s a rare meal where we don’t put leftovers in the frig. I guess it’s a learned behavior. I know pretty much what the 3 of us will eat, but it never looks like enough.

LJoyce

4:18 am
9 Dec 17
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Thin, I agree about Minka’s Zumbo photos. I could walk past these 3 but that raspberry cake would have drawn me in. It’s always the lemon, lime or raspberry desserts that have the biggest draw for me.

I also agree with your description of the effect of weight loss on the body. 🙁
I too am happy to settle for looking good clothed.

thinatlast

4:45 am
9 Dec 17
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CalifD, I had traumatic meal times as a child where I would be the only one left sitting at the table, playing with my food, pushing it round the plate hoping to lose some of it by spreading it out. We were told about starving children in Biafra. I have just looked that up again as I do know my African countries and that’s not one of them. Biafra was a secessionist unrecognized state in West Africa which existed from 30 May 1967 to January 1970. Considering I was 11 years old in 1967, it’s pretty amazing that I was still being forced to finish everything on my plate. No wonder I have issues with food.

My family weren’t poor but my parents grew up in the war and nothing was ever wasted. Long after the war, food was still being rationed. I don’t disagree with those sentiments and try not to waste food. My own family is happy to eat leftovers. OH’s family in Utah were poor and he said he never ate in a restaurant until he was about 17. His mum grew their produce and could make a very good meal out of nothing apparently. Times were very different.

Amazon

8:34 am
9 Dec 17
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Hi everyone,

We had to eat everything on the plate but were never overfed so didn’t have a problem doing so. My parents grew up during the war when they simply could not waste anything edible. We ate our main meal at achool where we were not permitted to opt out of eating anything and me and my brother always had a plateful of brussel sprouts at this time of year because none of the other children liked them!

There were 2 overweight children in my primary school class (and only one other in the whole school if my memory serves me correctly) and one in my senior (high) school class. One was someone who on reflection must have had metabolic issues as she ate no more than anyone else and had two skinny parents and skinny siblings. One had an obese mother and brother, and the third had parents who expressed their love by feeding her every time she opened her mouth.

I can remember when I was small if a very obese person walked down the street people would stare as it was so rare.

We all know the answer is cheap processed food. I despair when I see the number of takeaway outlets and as someone who is concerned with the way animals for food are reared and cared for I know that the meat will be the result of intensive farming with little care for animal welfare and be full of anti biotics etc, none of which is good for us to eat. And that’s before we get to the sugar,the flour, the flavour enhancers, preservatives, artificial substances to make it look good etc.

Many younger adults and children see such food as a normal diet.

The food industry has a lot to answer for starting with Mr K who managed to convince everyone that eating a bowl of sugar laden cereal was the best way to start the day and we should all stop eating those nasty eggs…………

Since losing 68lbs/30kg I have begun to notice just how many overweight and obese people there are and it is sad to see so many young people who are obese and destined for a life of health issues.

I’m socialising today and will be fasting again tomorrow in order to minimise any damage.

penguin

10:07 am
9 Dec 17
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Day 9. No Christmas festivity yesterday, so down one pound. Amazon you are right. The two days I was in London earlier in the week, when left alone in the house I could find nothing I was prepared to eat. There was lots of food, all pre-prepared, processed and hygienically wrapped but nothing fresh. Kelloggs are doing an Advent calendar box – a different cereal every day. It was a relief to get into my garden – under that snow are leeks, celariac and cabbages!

LJoyce

11:54 am
9 Dec 17
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Penguin, better stick to your craft beer advent box and give the kellogs version a miss.
Glad to hear you grow celeriac, it’s one of my favourite veggies, but it’s not widely known or used here. I’ve never tried to grow it though.

penguin

12:26 pm
9 Dec 17
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It is easy to grow. In this climate it might need a little water when young, thereafter forget it until you need it. The only problem at this time of year is that the surprisingly complex root system comes out of the ground with a mass of mud.

Amazon

1:14 pm
9 Dec 17
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I never had much success with celeriac. I rented an allotment from the council for 13 years and grew all manner of things but the soil was very heavy and it was hard work to get it into the condition where I could grow decent carrots, parsnips etc but I gave up on celeriac after a couple of failed years.And of course there was a daily battle with pests such as slugs who like nothing better than a nice juicy leaf or root.

I miss all the veg but I don’t miss the amount of hard work. When I was working it was easier as it was mid-way between work and home and I could stop off in the morning and water everything or stop on the way home and dig up/pick my dinner which was an excellent way to unwind and forget the stresses of the working day, but once I no longer did that journey and had so many options of how to spend my time I lost the motivation to keep it going.

My dream is to live somewhere with a garden big enough to grow veg so I can grow a small amount of lots of varieties and keep a close eye on them.

diverdog

5:24 pm
9 Dec 17
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Amazon, you are right on with the food issues we face. It also drives huge healthcare costs.

We had to clean our plates in homage to the “starving children in China” too. But we were not overfed and I liked just about everything served so it was never an issue for me. Growing up the five of us were all normal weight although my dad started to put on the lbs in his 40’s. Not from food but from increasing beer consumption. He ended up at 250 lbs and died from a heart attack. My younger brother died at 58 YO this summer @ 275 lbs also an alcoholic. My sister was 120 lbs 5’5″ until 55 YO at 65 YO she is 200 lbs. My mom never weighed more than 115 but she died at 60 YO of cancer. I weighed ~240 from age 30-50. Lots of risk factors for me so I’m doing my best to mitigate them.

First holiday party last night. Lot’s of tempting food and alcohol. I have a small plate of food and one glass of wine. Desert was a very small cookie and bite size cream puff. Although I did very well at the party I was rather generous all day and I think I was well over my TDEE. Doing a scheduled water fast today.

CalifDreamer

6:01 pm
9 Dec 17
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Amazon, are you in the UK? I forgot where you said you lived.

I am at 60.1, up from 59.8 yesterday morning (which was after a FD the day before). I did eat quite a few sweet things last night after the healthy fish bouillabaisse type concoction that I put together for dinner. *sigh*

We’re meeting friends for dinner this evening at an Italian restaurant that has some reasonable choices along with the pasta dishes. I think I will pass on the wine. Wine could result in high calorie choices after, or eating all the bread in the restaurant that isn’t nailed down! I’ve had only coffee with creamer so far this morning. I think I’ll fast until dinner and use my time to work on the Christmas decorations instead.

Hope all of you are having a great day today!

LJoyce

11:44 pm
9 Dec 17
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I got through the FD yesterday without issues.
Good thing I did it too. I weighed myself this morning to find I’m 0.7kg heavier than I was on 30th Nov (last time I weighed). Even with 3 FDs in a week my body is clearly getting too many extra on the NFDs.

It’s probably a good thing that the family brunch as been cancelled this morning (due to ill health of some family members). So I only have the afternoon tea to get through today.

Have a good Sunday everyone

thinatlast

1:51 am
10 Dec 17
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Ho hum LJ and CalifD, I’m not doing well either and woke to being over my trigger weight. Lucky it’s already a FD. I can’t even claim festivities or cold weather as an excuse. I think it must be because I drank a G&T on two separate evenings last week. No good reason, I just felt like it as it was so hot. I have 21 days left to reverse this trend. I really want to be below 60kg by 1 January.

Diverdog, inspirational that you’ve made the decision to do something about breaking your family trend. You may have already told us but when did you start IF and how much weight have you lost?

Amazon, 30kgs lost, wow. I agree with your food manufacturer sentiments and feel it’s my job to fight back. We don’t see fresh vegetables on sale at the entrance to the supermarkets, it’s always some sugary cake or junk food they’re peddling. There are several supermarket aisles that I don’t even venture down. Since losing a substantial amount of weight, I too have become like a reformed smoker. I’ve been lucky to meet about 7 people from this forum here in Perth. When CharliesMum and I first started meeting for coffee, we wanted to shout ‘5:2’ to overweight passersby. We just couldn’t understand why everyone wasn’t doing it.

diverdog

4:12 am
10 Dec 17
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TAL, I received my wake up call at age 50 when I went to the ER with heart attack symptoms. It wasn’t a HA but my BP was 160/105 and the fat cardiologist told me if I didn’t get my act together I’d have an early date with the grim reeper. Of course they wanted to medicate me and I went on Norvask. I was ~240lbs @5’10” and I knew I need to lose at least 50 lbs and did so in 9 months by cutting calories, lifting weights and walking. As I was getting healthier I asked my Dr to take me off Norvask and he said no, once your on it you’re on it for life! So I got another Dr that would work with me and I was weaned off it. I stayed at 190 +- 5 lbs for 11 years. Six years ago my wife was diagnosed with breast cancer and having cared for other cancer victims I knew it would be both physically and mentally challenging so I lost another 25 lbs to 170 in 4 months by low carb eating, HIIT on the spin bike and weightlifting.

I started self experimenting with 5:2 about 2.5 years ago weighing ~185. I did tons of research on fasting and was really impressed with the benefits. I switched to 5:2 water fasts off and on about 6 months ago. I’ve tried 5 day “fasting mimicking diets” three times. I find it easier to fast the more I do it.

Now fasted I weigh 167 and NF ~170. I still have a bit of ab fat I want to lose and I’d like to gain 3-5 lbs of muscle. Still on zero meds, BP 116/75 and all my blood chems are stellar. I’m so grateful, life is good! My 67th bday is in a couple of weeks.

thinatlast

5:08 am
10 Dec 17
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That’s a super good news story of how you turned everything around diverdog. I hope your wife had a good outcome too. Were you born on Christmas Day?

Amazon

8:31 am
10 Dec 17
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Hi everyone,

I was definitely over TDEE yesterday. Thank goodness I forgot about the mince pies in the oven as they were so burnt they went straight into the bin rather than into my mouth!
Divine intervention?………..

I had a surprise this morning as we have woken up to snow. It rarely snows in London and it is even rarer for it to snow before late January.

I’ll be spending my FD at home.

penguin

9:17 am
10 Dec 17
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Day 10. Enough snow overnight to bring the power lines down, so no heating. First job of the day was to light the fire. Power now back on but we are isolated, happens every winter and we are prepared. The only problem is that we eat more, so weight is up.

LJoyce

9:18 am
10 Dec 17
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Amazon, lucky you forgot about the mince pies. Better than Penguin’s wife who bakes tempting mince pies and leaves them to cool in front of hungry penguins/husbands.

Thin & Diverdog, At the mention of Christmas day birthdays I thought I’d share a story. One of my grandpa’s brothers was born on Christmas day. His thoughtful parents decided to give him two middle names – any guesses? Yes his middle names are Christmas Day – it’s not just modern celebrities that choose stupid names for their children. Still, he was the sixth child, they were probably running out of creative ideas.

This is all delaying tactics to avoid admitting that I have definitely eaten too much today. Yes I was in control of the baking. But that didn’t stop me eating 4 scones. That’s what happens when I skip lunch and am then confronted with a treat I rarely get. At least I sent the leftovers out the door with my friend.

Tomorrow is also a NFD, but hopefully a controlled one with better food choices.

penguin

9:25 am
10 Dec 17
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Having claimed to be prepared I have just realised that my snow clearing kit is in the shed at the other end of the garden! The power is flickering again. Our record since we moved to this part of England is ten days without power so you may not here from me for a while.

LJoyce

9:42 am
10 Dec 17
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Penguin, I hope the candles and lamps aren’t also in the shed at the other end of garden. And I hope you get the power back soon.
I was thinking wistfully about your white Christmas – I can now see the down side.

CalifDreamer

9:47 am
10 Dec 17
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LJoyce, something else to consider with your 700 gram gain. Could it be that you’ve gained muscle? You’ve been doing a lot of yard work lately, especially digging all those holes which can be heavy work. Muscle weighs more than fat, doesn’t it? Maybe it’s responsible for that gain.

Amazon, you could end up having a white Christmas if that kind of weather continues!

Diver, great turn-around on the weight and BP. I used to take Norvasc and quit as I lost weight and my BP came down. I never heard anything about not being able to stop BP meds. My BP finally got way too low, to the point of feeling faint within an hour after taking it.

I didn’t eat anything today until our dinner with friends. I had chicken piccata with steamed veggies and a very small amount of pasta. No wine. I hope to be back in the 59’s in the morning. Maybe instead of doing an extra FD when I hit my trigger weight, I should just do a 3 or 4 hour eating window and fast the rest of the day instead. I think there would be less chance of overeating on NFDs that way because I wouldn’t feel deprived.

penguin

9:48 am
10 Dec 17
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We get power cuts at all times of the year so the battery lanterns and the camping gas stoves are readily to hand. My London based family think I live in the third world – can’t understand why we don’ have a mobile phone signal.

diverdog

1:18 pm
10 Dec 17
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TAL, my birthday is 12/20. Growing up I hated having a birthday so close to xmas. Back in the day we didn’t get presents every time we went to the store. Birthday and Xmas were it! I did get lots of presents as we had a large extended family and we were close to them.The fly in the ointment was that one present would be a toy and one clothing. For a young boy that meant that I didn’t get any birthday presents! LOL

Unfortunately my wife’s bout with cancer did not go well. She had triple negative breast cancer and 15 months after diagnosis she passed. The only good thing was that she was on oral chemo and did not lose her hair or have violent sickness from it so for the first year she could lead a normal life. She took a bad turn for the worse when it jumped to her brain and she was bedridden for the last 3 months. It was my privilege to care for her at home with only 6 days spent in hospice.

Her death was my second big wake up call. There are no guarantees I’m gonna wake up tomorrow so make the most of today while planning for tomorrow.

I’m a bit puzzled about what kind of looks like self sabotage by some of the folks on here. One of the key things that has contributed to my very long term success is to keep a clean pantry. If I have binge foods in the house eventually I will eat them. ALL OF THEM!!!! I was having trouble when my GF moved in and kept on bringing junk into the house. I had to give her an ultimatum “I love you but you’re killing me”. She’s been getting with the program for quite a while now and it is so much easier to eat clean together. We have dessert at home on Thanksgiving and Xmas (and yes we eat way too much food!). Chips are an infrequent treat with guacamole. When we eat out portions as so big we usually pack half of the main course when it is served unless it is fine dining. If we have dessert it is shared. I really try to limit my alcohol intake, no beer or hard liquor and just one glass of wine. Not so much for the calories but rather because lowering of self control makes it way too easy to gorge.

For me will power alone won’t cut it, I have to plan for success and limit temptation or I will fail.

I’m sorry if that sounded like a rant. The fact is that everyone is on here to get help and share strategy about how to limit the holiday carnage! And it seems like most are doing well.

Penquin, living in the countryside is sweet but it does come with a different set of problems. I hope you get power back quickly! As for snow, after living my life in NJ where it snowed from December to March and was below 0 degrees C most days, my preference is to view it from a distance, like the snow capped Spring mountains 35 miles from my back yard! LOL It just turned “cold” here in Vegas low 60’s (F) and sunny in the day and low 40’s at night!

I hope everyone has a very healthy and happy day today! I’ll be breaking my water fast later today and I know the food is gonna taste so good!

Amazon

3:02 pm
10 Dec 17
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It is unlikely that we’ll have a white Christmas in London. It’s only happened a handful of times in my life. This snow won’t hang around for long as it is set to get warmer by midweek.

Most people who take BP meds stay on them for life. It is a condition that has numerous causes and it isn’t always obvious which one is causing the problem.
I have been taking meds for about 12 years and although my BP has reduced considerably with my weight loss I still have hypertension so it is unlikely I’ll ever be able to stop.

diverdog

8:03 pm
10 Dec 17
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TAL, my birthday is 12/20. Unfortunately my wife passed away 15 months after she was diagnosed. For the first year she did well and did not lose her hair. I was a very good time for us. But she had triple negative breast cancer and it invaded her brain. We went out to dinner and a concert on January 5 and on March 22nd she passed away. I took care of her at home and she just spent the last 6 days in hospice.

I did well on my fast, 2 cups of black coffee and water for the rest of the day. I haven’t lost any scale weight but the BF% has been trending downward. That’s what I really want anyway, but I’m going to tighten up on these next two NFD’s. I will do a lower body weight workout later today. American football to watch this afternoon and I won’t be drinking or snacking. Although since my team is the NY Giants I have very good reasons to drink!!!

Penguin I hope you get your power back promptly!

thinatlast

10:53 pm
10 Dec 17
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So sorry diverdog.

LJoyce

12:22 am
11 Dec 17
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NFD for me today. As I overdid the eating yesterday I am committed to making this a very controlled NFD. I’ll fast again tomorrow.
I should be able to do normal 5:2 this week as I have less social occasions to deal with and can prepare most meals at home.

thinatlast

2:00 am
11 Dec 17
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Enjoy that bit of snow Amazon. I recall when living in the south of England, it rarely snowed before January and would always be short-lived. Looked beautiful for a matter of hours, then turned to dirty slush with everyone trying not to break a leg. It’s nice if you can stay in and read a good book by the window.

Good luck with the power outages Penguin. It sounds like you are seasoned to it. I suppose you are too remote to have underground power.

LJ, speaking of not so creative names, my aunt was born in June and my nan called her June. My mum was born in May and my nan called her May. A son was born in November. Thanks heavens common sense prevailed and they called him Pete. If he’d had a twin brother, they could have called him Repeat.

Good handling of the meal out with friends CalifD. I think that’s a good strategy. I’m at the low end my short range today, 60.2kg following yesterday’s FD of 300 cals and a good walk in the heat this morning. Another 36C day.

I was put on BP medication many years ago after a high reading in the GP’s office. My BP with the meds was not monitored as it should have been and resulted in me waking up in the back of an ambulance having had a witnessed grand mal seizure in the park while out walking. After exhaustive testing with no cause found for the seizure and a lot of research on my part, I put forth the theory that the BP meds had ultimately been responsible. The doctors concurred. I should never have been prescribed those meds without first being required to wear a 24hr BP monitor which would have revealed that I didn’t need them. Then, because I was never monitored, my BP went far too low and I passed out while out walking. A not particularly well known side effect of passing out is seizing.

The fallout from experiencing a ‘first seizure’ over the ensuing six months was tremendous, husband working overseas, me banned from driving and a primary school child to care for. It was a condition of my release from hospital that I have someone with me 24/7 so my wonderful friends with busy lives of their own, made a roster and stayed with me until OH could get his passport released from the UAE military and come home.

I changed GPs, he ditched the meds and I bought a BP monitor for home use. Nowadays with my weight loss, my BP is a steady 110/75. But it’s not all about weight. OH has never gained an ounce since high school but has high BP. He exercises more and is far more fit than I but his BP goes through the roof when he tries to cut back on the meds. Anyway, the moral of the story is question everything!

penguin

10:38 am
11 Dec 17
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Day 11. Late posting because I have been clearing the overnight snow between the house and the wood store. If the weather forecast is to be believed we should not get much more but with the overnight temperature forecast to be minus 8-10 C, the 10 inches we already have will be with us for a few days and the drifts probably longer.

There is much hilarity in this part of the world because with all of this snow our main roads are open and our small regional airport which sits on top of an exposed hill is operating. In the south-east with a couple of inches disaster has struck. We can fly from here to Poland, but not to London which is shut.

Apart from the snow clearing I spent Sunday indoors, doing not a lot but eat and drink. It was a classic example of Diverdog’s belief that we should not allow temptation to enter the house. OH was making more mince pies and I had bought a couple of bottles of whiskey for the seasonal visitors. This morning I went into the darkest depths of my wardrobe and dug out some of my old military cold weather clothing. I still have some of the shirts the British military call “Norwegians” – long, thick, fleecy and high at the neck. I am now in my office/studio, a stone built outbuilding, with three electric heaters going – the power has been on for the last 24 hours. Today is a fast day so the fact that we are running out of fresh milk will not be a problem.

penguin

11:42 am
11 Dec 17
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Just walked up to the village shop. Up the middle of the road because it has been cleared of snow. A beautiful, if cold, sunny day and he has fresh milk.

Amazon

11:54 am
11 Dec 17
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Hi everyone,

It is wild, wet and very windy here today. The snow has disappeared and we now have sleet which is almost horizontal in the wind!

When I got up this morning it was pouring with rain and the wind rattling down the chimney breasts so I decided that as much as I wanted to go to the gym, I wasn’t up to the 10 minute walk to the bus stop. I decided to go out in the car and do shopping today and gym tomorrow morning when the weather is forecast to be dry.

It is a day for comfort food so roasted roots with greens and ricotta is on the menu.
I have a new cookery book to peruse, The Modern Cooks Year by Anna Jones so by the time I’ve read it I’ll have a list as long as my arm of things I want to make.

penguin

12:54 pm
11 Dec 17
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Careful Amazon – cooking is a dangerous activity. Being indoors all day yesterday I passed some of the time converting left over stewed steak into pies with a suet crust pastry. Fortunately I then froze them, but sooner or later I will give into temptation. I’m not sure that yesterday’s take on comfort food was any better – macaroni cauliflower cheese with lots of cheese, including stilton for the flavour.

diverdog

4:22 pm
11 Dec 17
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Hearing about all of this foul weather does not make me nostalgic for the very cold and snowy winters in NJ. It has been in the low 60’s and sunny in the day and 40’s at night in Vegas.

Two years ago I took Caecillia to Santa Fe New Mexico for Xmas. She is Indonesian and had lived in Los Angeles her whole time in the US and had never experienced a white Xmas. The weather God’s cooperated with snow and it was great fun for a couple of days but getting back to the sunshine was a relief.

Caecillia went to a baby shower yesterday and they had a cornucopia of home baked desserts. She has been under a lot of stress with the move and stuffed her face. I’ve asked her a million times not to bring me sweets but feeling very guilty for indulging and still equating food with love she brought me a box of cake made with lots of nuts and whipped cream icing. I was in a down mood having just watched my football team getting trounced by their arch rival and I inhaled a thousand calories of cake. The only good thing was that I forced myself to get in a lower body weight workout. It’s been over a month and boy was I stiff!

Today is another NFD so I’m going to get back on the horse and try to make it a good one by eating to plan.

All this talk of cooking and the cooler weather is making me want to cook something savory. I think a big pot of Bison chili is in the works.

Amazon

4:40 pm
11 Dec 17
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penguin,

It is a vegetarian cookery book and many of the recipes are vegan so there’s not much cheese in evidence. Many of the recipes in AJ’s other books are FD friendly as most of them can be divided into portions of 300-400 calories which is fine for me as I only eat dinner on FDs. The more calorific recipes are reserved for non FDs.

I’ve avoided looking at the baking recipes as I have already made and decorated my Christmas cake. I’ve also made a panettone which has been sliced and frozen and is sitting in the freezer alongside a batch of raw mince pies made with homemade mincemeat.

penguin

6:41 pm
11 Dec 17
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Amazon. I have lived in London and although the work was interesting I am really a country boy so it isn’t often that I want to come back. However, the local TV has just revised the overnight forecast to minus 12 – 15 C ……

Amazon

7:19 pm
11 Dec 17
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If your name is anything to go by you’ll do just fine 😆

Only -3C here!

thinatlast

11:34 pm
11 Dec 17
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Managed to stay the same weight after yesterday’s NFD. While you’re freezing your buns in the other hemisphere, we’ve been experiencing a heatwave of 37C. I can deal with one or two consecutive days in the high 30s and low 40s. After that, I feel drained. Woken to a nice cool morning with a forecast of 29C. A perfect day. Off for a walk.

LJoyce

11:35 pm
11 Dec 17
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The seasonal differences between the hemispheres is becoming rather apparent. The forecast for Adelaide (South Australia) is 35C today and 38C tomorrow. Thankfully it’s meant to cool off a little by Friday.

FD for me today. I tried to do a controlled NFD yesterday and I mostly succeeded, although it took more willpower than usual to leave food alone through the afternoon.

I have nothing special planned today. It’s too hot to garden, so I’m unfortunately confined to housework – I’d rather pull weeds than sweep floors any day.

My food plans for the day are pulled from my usual FD choices. Cups of tea as I want them, some strawberries this afternoon if I feel like them and an eggwhite mushroom & spinach omelette for dinner.

penguin

8:50 am
12 Dec 17
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Day 12. We were on national TV last night! We had a camera crew and reporter within two miles of us, getting all surprised because it is winter and we have snow. Those two miles make a difference – much of Gloucestershire has been without power for two days. Recently in UK there has been a campaign against diesel powered 4x4s – over last couple of days there have been public appeals for their owners to ferry District Nurses and the like to patients.

The real problem with temperatures like last night’s minus 12 C the is the temptation to eat comfort foods and drink whiskey. This is feeble really – that was an acceptable excuse when I was younger and we would wake up with ice on the inside of the bedroom window because the only heating in the house was one small fire and no double glazing. This challenge is not going well.

LJoyce

9:03 am
12 Dec 17
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Penguin, I can well appreciate the temptation to head for the comfort foods when it’s cold. Although I’d be adding hot chocolate or a pot of tea to the feast rather than the whisky.
Glad you still have power and an internet connection.

I’m planning to drive to the Riverland for Christmas day. My sister called earlier to let me know their forecast for christmas day is 36C. Apparently we are having a cold lunch under the outside pergola. I better pack mosquito repellent and fly spray!

diverdog

3:52 am
13 Dec 17
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Eating comfort foods on a NFD isn’t bad, it’s the five helpings of them that hurts! LOL

Folks, just when I think I have this sh!t figured out my scale throws me a curve. I had two less than stellar NFD’s and got on the scale only to find out I weighed 2 lbs less that I usually do starting my FD. Go figure. I really enjoyed that 1/2 lb cheese burger with a nice glass of cab as my last meal yesterday with frozen custard for desert! The only good thing is I skipped the fries and finished eating by 5:00 PM

No issues today with a water fast holding up just fine. I’ll be interested to see what my weight, BF% and ketones will be when I break my fast tomorrow morning

LJoyce

4:19 am
13 Dec 17
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Diverdog, thinking we can stop after a little bit can be a trap. Once I get a taste for something decadent it can be awfully tough to stop. Well done on avoiding the fries. You also aren’t alone in trying to figure out your scales. I’ve found my tape measure and tight jeans give me a much clearer idea of how my health & weight is really going than the scales ever do. Too many other things have an impact on weight that just fluctuations in body fat.

I’m on a NFD and am having yet another afternoon where the desire to snack continually just won’t go away. Normally I’d go an do some gardening to distract myself, but it’s far too hot out there today.

I enjoyed last week’s veggies with sun-dried tomato pesto so much I’ve made some more. This time I used green beans, carrots, broad beans and broccoli. Instead of adding parmesan as I did last time I’ve dressed the hot veg with lemon infused olive oil in addition to the pesto. Tonight I’ll grill a piece of salmon to go with it. I can create several NFD meals from this over the next few days or have it on it’s own for a FD meal. I’m much in favour of leftovers that I can build many meals around.

diverdog

4:30 am
13 Dec 17
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LJoyce, I usually don’t pay much attention to individual scale readings but they usually reflect on my eating pattern. But I do like to use them as a trend indicator.

Your fresh veggies with pesto sounds amazing. I can’t wait to get my new garden established. I’m afraid that it will have to be a fall planting though based on all of the work I have to do on my new yard.

thinatlast

7:20 am
13 Dec 17
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FD going well. Totally distracted by visiting the hairdresser and then food shopping and hadn’t really noticed that it was a FD. Annoyed with myself for having the cauliflower soup just then when I really wasn’t hungry. How silly is that? Even if it was 75 mins later than usual. I could have easily skipped that. Now I’m all food-focussed.

Penguin, we still have more than half of December remaining so there’s time to turn this around! I agree with LJ, “make yourself a nice cup of tea”! And maybe you could do some deals with yourself about the whisky.

Amazon, are you a vegetarian? A vegan? (You’ve probably already told us one way or another so excuse my FD brain fog).

Diverdog, are you moving within the same county in Nevada?

CalifDreamer

8:23 am
13 Dec 17
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Penguin, I looked for an image of that Norwegians shirt you were posting about, and found one. Then I searched for a picture of a “penguin in Norwegian shirt” that yielded an even more interesting image and story about a penguin who was knighted in a ceremony in Norway. Sir Nils Olav looks rather satisfied with his new status: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1045733/Penguin-parade-The-day-knighted-special-bird.html

Amazon

8:43 am
13 Dec 17
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Hi everyone,

thin, I’m not a vegetarian but am interested in all types of cuisine and diets and am especially interested eating as wide a variety of fooods as possible, Back in the spring when I had just bought a vegetarian cookery book I set myself a challenge of a vegetarian Lent. I had a wonderful time trying out different recipes and foods I’d previously dislike intensely ie tofu, and discovering new things mostly grains like quinoa,amaranth etc that aren’t new but hadn’t been on my radar.

In October I made the decision to eat vegetarian food at home for 3 months and see how it goes. I love meat, fish and shellfish but am becoming increasingly concerned with animal welfare, what intensive animal rearing is doing to our planet and what is in the meat that we put on our plates eg traces of anti-biotics.

I’ve been buying organic chicken,eggs and milk for many years and in recent years trying to buy the best quality meat from animals that have been reared well without anti biotics etc.

Before I made the decision to give up meat and fish at home I was already only eating it once occasionally twice a week.

Having said that, I am having meat at Christmas and have bought a piece of rare breed pork from a small farm.

I went out for lunch yesterday and had steak!!!!!!! and enough wine to make me think that when I got home I needed a couple of slices of panettone…………

I’m fasting again today.

As for the scales, I rarely weigh less the day after a fast and sometimes I weigh more (another reason for not weighing every day IMO) Sometimes they don’t move for 3 weeks and then I get on and discover I’ve lost 5lbs. I’ve stopped worrying about it as the general trend is downwards albeit slowly.

penguin

9:06 am
13 Dec 17
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Day 13. Weather weird – minus 12 C on Monday night. Plus 5 C overnight Tuesday and forecast to freeze again before the week is out. In spite of the comfort food I seem to have lost weight. This shouldn’t really be a surprise; we burn more calories in the cold. In my time our military individual ration packs had 2000 more calories per day in the arctic pack than the temperate. (TDEE of 5,500 cal anyone?).

CalifDreamer. That is a smart Penguin. It used to be that Zoos used Penguins as an internationally accepted currency, with a value that fluctuated according to supply. The Norwegians, who were heavily into Antarctic exploration, had lots.

Minka

10:33 am
13 Dec 17
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Hi again! I’m still very much part of this challenge even though I come and go from the thread! I think about it and what it means each day. I’m an emotional eater and I’ve been unraveling some deep stuff that normally would lead me to binge (well I did binge some, though a good fast day stopped me in my tracks and as I worked through the deeper reason urging me to reach for food compulsively, I was able to feel free of the underlying push in that direction). This experience is one I chalk up to part of my growth into being more harmonious with myself and has been invigorating and rewarding and Mr. M has helped a lot. He’s a good listener.

LJ and Thin, like you both point out, Adriano Zumbo’s selections are not that compelling this year. I very well may walk past those treats pictured in those links. I see the vanilla selection is supposed to be like a 2018 equivalent of the raspberry cube. Somehow the whiteness of it, just doesn’t grab me since I too am a raspberry fan.

Next week I’m going in for an Inbody scan and looks like my 75 year old lady friend is going to join me. This will be my second scan and her first. This 75 year old woman is my role model. When she stands next to other ladies in their 50s, she often looks younger than they do and she hasn’t had any facial surgery to lift bags or smooth wrinkles! This 75 year old woman is also much fitter than I. Though she doesn’t practice 5:2 she has not problem sticking to a paleo diet and is slim and trim. I wouldn’t be at all surprised if she ends up registering a lot less visceral fat than I, even though she’s 15 years older! I’ll let you know!

thinatlast

11:04 am
13 Dec 17
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That’s interesting Amazon, I share your sentiments about animal food production but don’t do anything about it. I’m thinking about doing something about it.

“enough wine to make me think that when I got home I needed a couple of slices of panettone………” made me laugh. I’m fasting with you today, though mine is almost over.

I usually have a good 500-600gm loss after a FD but rarely after a NFD which usually sees a rise, even if slight. Maybe you need some more reliable scales? Or maybe you’re one of those people whose weight moves in steps and stairs (I think that’s what one loser called it).

Thanks for the link CalifD. LJ, you can expect some nice cool weather if ours is coming your way.

Good luck with the Dexa scan Minka. How nice for your 75 y/o friend to look and feel so fit and youthful. I tried on an emerald green dress today and, while it fit me perfectly, I didn’t buy it because it revealed too many annoying flabby and scraggy bits around the neck and upper arms. OH said I should have bought it anyway because ‘this is who we are now”. I do regret not being a healthy weight all those years when I had the parts to show off.