RedBobbin. 5:2 ~ Slimmer by Christmas.

[RedBobbin]

Second 5:2 week under my belt and in the morning I'll get to see how it paid off.

Just before I was due to break my 18 hours, I found the sausage I was planning on having at lunchtime had 210 cals! 140 of them from fat!!
So that meant my salad was looking like having no avocado today... no dressing either as I don't have anything low cal/ready made. It was looking a bit dire so I quickly sliced the sausage into 15 thin rounds and sauteed them lightly (I needed no extra fat because of what came out of the sausage ) and tossed them through the salad. There was a good teaspoon of fat left in the pan so I discarded that and added 1 oz avocado in it's place and a squeeze of lemon juice for good measure. It was YUM. Worth the extra wait.

Nothing like a a frenzy of last-minute calorie googling at the kitchen bench on the laptop while your tummy rumbles, to remind you you're on a DIET.
I'm trying to do 5:2 with regular foods we eat, rather than buy diet stuff in especially, and some of these things don't have the 'per serving' nutritional breakdown...like these sausages we get direct from the producer at the Farmer's market. Good thing is, I know now for next time.

I had a small serving of home made chicken soup this evening (250 calories). I tried spillting my cals more evenly between lunch and dinner this time. Right now I feel not hungry exactly...but in calorie deficit with a kind of empty feeling. I guess if I was a cave lady I'd be sharpening my spear right now and very motivated to go out at dawn and turn tomorrow in to a feast day!
With weigh in looming (?) tomorrow morning I'm translating that empty'ish feeling into a positive anyway.

OH starts his long trek back from the other side of the world about now.
I'm hoping for at least a one pound loss tomorrow so I can call in and get the new bed cover I have my heart set on. I started making a couple of cushion covers for our bed hmmm a year ago (?) when my sewing machne packed up, so I've handed the covers on to my lovely Mum - plus a skirt that needs the waist taking in a bit - and she's promised to have those done tomorrow.
I have lunch out planned with my Mum and my SIL and my littlest nephew tomorrow. SIL wants to go somewhere 'baby friendly' and I'm not all that keen on the counter food (fifty shades of wheat/sugar/margarine) but will consult with google (again ho hum) in a minute to see if I can find out what they have on their kitchen menu so I'm prepared.

I have an hour's housework to catch up on now. Joy!

RB

 

[RedBobbin]

Waaah what a shocking night's 'sleep'. The dog's taken up nightly residence of the bed and last night she was very restless! Up at midnight then again at 2am...
Up extra early now to get child #2 packed and ready for a school trip.

Got the coffee under way, then - bravely because I haven't quite made friends with my new scales yet - stepped on said scales and opened my eyes...

3.4 lbs down !! Super chuffed ! :bliss:

Have to do a quick batch of school baking now. Will look forward to updating tickers and stats later, after lunch with my Mum etc.

 

[RedBobbin]

I lost my day's update. here goes again...

Breakfast: Bacon and eggs, plus a few cherry tomatoes.

Lunch: Ordered off the menu - much to SILS chagrin...oh there were a few ways I unintentionally wound her up today... Caesar salad with King Prawns, 2 espressos with cream. Yep, the cream wound her up...and the fact I left my fresh baked sourdough and butter. "How's cream any better than butter?" she said. I am seriously thinking about taking a mini stick blender, and extension cord and whipping up a Bulletproof coffee with all the extras next time we go out.

Dinner: 2 bowls of homemade chicken soup, chuck of fresh coconut, a few strawberries and four squares of dark chocolate.

Fun stuff: After lunch I went and got my lovely new bed cover which is my 5lbs off reward! It's been washed, dried and is now on the freshly made (and free of all dog toys) bed.
While there I saw some bedside rugs I had to have . My favourite shade of red, and all wool so they feel amazing underfoot.
Also browsed around a few clothing stores with Mum and SIL. I got to push the wee fella in his pram and entertain him while his Mum dithered to the extreme over potential holiday outfits from one end of the high street to the other.....
Stopped for a sparkling Pellegrino (with a slice of lime) in a store cafe at one point after I ran into an old workmate I hadn't seen for a while.
After dinner, Mum bless her, brought round the completed cushions and the skirt I'd given her to take in at the waist. We had a bit of a giggle over all the miles we walked today...for no result in the clothes shopping department....just endlessssss agonising.

Busy day. Still grinning about my 3.4 pounds off. Hubby's home tomorrow! :airplane:

 

[Melissa2890]

Well done on your weight loss!

I have also set myself a 'Christmas goal'
I'm starting off doing 'shake that weight' meal replacement shakes. I'm on my 3rd week and have lost a stone. After 12 weeks doing this I plan to go onto a low carb, low calorie healthy eating diet. And by Christmas I want to be 10 stone. Sounds so strange writing 10stone because I can't picture myself back at that weight.
Over the past 3 years I've put on 5 stone!
Started the diet at 14 stone 4 and now I'm 13 stone 4! Although I've had trouble with my scales resulting in buying a new set today.... Arrrrrgh! So frustrating, annoying thing is I've had a few diff reading from the new ones !
What kind of diet are you doing? Hope all is well x

 

[RedBobbin]

Well done on your weight loss!

I have also set myself a 'Christmas goal'
I'm starting off doing 'shake that weight' meal replacement shakes. I'm on my 3rd week and have lost a stone. After 12 weeks doing this I plan to go onto a low carb, low calorie healthy eating diet. And by Christmas I want to be 10 stone. Sounds so strange writing 10stone because I can't picture myself back at that weight.
Over the past 3 years I've put on 5 stone!
Started the diet at 14 stone 4 and now I'm 13 stone 4! Although I've had trouble with my scales resulting in buying a new set today.... Arrrrrgh! So frustrating, annoying thing is I've had a few diff reading from the new ones !
What kind of diet are you doing? Hope all is well x

Hi Melissa,
Thanks for popping by my diary. I have done shakes before (replacing 2 meals per day) and I found them really useful for a good solid start. A stone in 3 weeks is fantastic! You must feel great!

I'm doing a low carb, moderate calorie (1800'ish per day) diet but with 18 hour fasting periods 2 days per week (as per the 5:2 diet) and only 500 calories on each of those two days.
So it averages out at around 1430 per day, if that makes sense!?

I empathise with the scales situation. It's frustrating when you think you know where you're at and then suddenly you don't!!

I'm well. Husband's just back from a trip to NZ, so we've ben rushing around doing shopping and errands and exciting stuff like that before he has to head back to work.

All the best for your Christmas goal!

 

[RedBobbin]

Probably ought to do a 'diet' update while I've got a quiet few minutes.

I've switched fasting days from Sunday and Wednesday, to Monday and Wednesday this week to allow for special Sunday lunch at my Mums.
I'll have to see how it goes having the 2 fasting days closer together. Longer term I wanted to avoid fasting on the weekends anyway, as we've got a bit of a tradition of getting together with extended family then, or at least as a family together at home. It was only last night I needed to do anything 'differently' than I would if I wasn't fasting. The kids always have a simple supper and an earlier night on Sundays. Hubby plays sport in the early evening and we always eat together later around 8pm. The past few months this has meant a takeaway meal and a bottle of wine because I've been busier with work all week, and I've seen the need to cook twice on Sundays as a chore I'd just as sooner avoid. .
...That's an excuse really :sigh: because I could just plan a bit better and cook something earlier that can easily be heated up later... Except, I got into the habit of getting Hubby to stop for a Thai takeaway on his way home, and I like it! Problem is we'd drink a couple of glasses of wine, catch up on some recorded TV....and Hubs would not have to try too hard to talk me into an icecream or something later on either. He's always up extra late after playing sport and he's extra hungry too! Me, my excuse is I'm just too good at keeping him company.

So last night I ate with the kids at 6pm, and stopped there. Hubby brought home a meal for one and dear godzilla it smelled good. *sigh* We both had some pellegrino and lime. So we could share something at least. Because he's still recovering from jet lag/lack of sleep he was in bed early so the question of icecream or any other treats didn't even come up. I think him having been away has been good in that we can probably use the break from routine to make a change. He's keen to support me anyway.

Next Sunday I want to go one better and make a nice meal that the kids and I can eat earlier, and hubs can have later. Then if we want a treat meal together we can do it on a non fasting day. (But with no naughty extras for me.)

OK, so I'm due to stop my fast in an hour and I have eggs and salad ready for lunch, then leek and watercress soup for tonight, plus some strawberries.

So much for a brief update LOL.

Wait there's more.... Hubby got me (something I asked for) a replacement leather purse from a place I bought one 7 years ago when we were living out there, and the extra he promised if I was strong in the face of temptation re the corn chips turns out to be a couple of bottles of our wedding wine, which we can't get here. I'm going to hang onto those for special occasions.

 

[RedBobbin]

OK, this fasting days two days apart business. Well, so far the result is that I'm more hungry than I usually am at the end of the (second) fasting day. yesterday I did eat over the intended 1800 cals, so the extra hunger is surprising (? Or not?).
M (hubby) had another day's leave yesterday and we went and looked at a house where a good friend of my brother who we're getting to do some building work for us, is just finishing off a similar job. Then he took us and showed us another recent addition he did...which happened to be not too far from somewhere M and I had a really nice meal once. Because we were out later than we'd intended, and both hungry, we ended up there!
I thought I'd have a salad or something but, without going into all the naughty details, I had rather a lot more! Coming off one fasting day and knowing I was starting another that evening meant I more easily gave myself extra permission to go a bit off plan (too many carbs). I did eat less last night, though I did have a couple of glasses of the wine I was saving for a special occasion. I think yesterdays intake must have been close to 3000 cals. So today I have some payback and I'm feeling a lot of hunger (and a bit of regret!). Maybe it was the extra carbs, or maybe it was the smaller supper...or maybe the extra hunger would have happened anyway.
Yeah I'm overanalysing this but I suppose I think if I figure it out, I might not do it again!

I found this easier to do with M not here.
It feels like having him back at work today has put some structure back into my week and apart from the hunger,and a headache, I have actually managed to restrict myself to 500 cals today. I had a small piece of salmon crustless quiche at lunchtime, and salmon and salad this evening.
So, I'm on track to weigh in tomorrow. Will be pleased to have it over with actually and get another week underway.

RB

 

[RedBobbin]

1.2 lbs off this week. I didn't feel as if I'd lost anything and I feel a bit bloated (still, since Tuesday's decadent lunch out with M) so I'm pleased with anything in the downward direction....

Back to business this week! Fast days will be Monday and Wednesday again.

 

[RedBobbin]

I've been a slacker on the diary front - but not on the 5:2 front I'm happy to report

Sunday night went well....I made an early supper of stir-fried ginger beef and veges on rice with cashews, and I had a good sized helping but no rice. Started my fasting time at 6pm and hubby came home and was happy with a reheated meal and a s. pellegrino with his wife. Actually he's on a health kick since the start of the week and he means business!
He spent time in NZ with his family last month and he got more than a couple of comments about having put on weight. What makes it worse is that he was side by side with his identical twin who's a really active, healthy type - same as M is at heart, but M's sedentary job (and long hours!) limit how active he's been able to be the last couple of years. Anyway, it wasn't exactly easy for M to downplay his weight gain...he said he and P (his twin) looked like the "before" and "after". It was really fiunny when he was describing it but I know he feels bad. His whole family is fit, and into eating well and looking after themselves.
Anyway, he weighed himself on my new scales and he and S have got their heads together and reckon he's probably got 15 or 16 kgs to lose to be at the weight he used to be.
The best part of M's new hobby (getting fit) is that this week there have been no icecreams or naughty evening snacking in the house whatsoever! I couldn't have planned it better.

...He and the boys have been taking a football to the park with our friends and their boys, while their mum, sister and me (and our dog) have walked briskly around the perimeter of the park more than a few times. Got a real sweat up too. So this week I guess you could say I've upped my exercise.

M's not joining me on the 5:2 thing. He says he'd find it too hard. Instead he's trying to exercise for an hour every day, and he's cut out snacking (which is good news for me!) and he's aiming to take a healthy lunch to work at least 3 days a week instead of buying it. He cooked the evening meal last night...first time in a couple of years! (Except for BBQs which he always takes charge of.)
I hadn't seen the whole "husband on the bandwagon" thing coming at all. He doesn't actually look overweight - at least not when he stands next to me he doesn't. LOL. But having seen a couple of photos of M and P from a couple of weeks back he obviously has gained a couple of stone. It shows in his face, and side-on it shows around his middle.

OK back to my 5:2 for this week: I fasted 19 hours on Sunday night/Monday morning and ate 500 cals on Monday afternoon/evening. I had a small omelette and salad, and more salad with sauteed sausage to make up my 500 cals. This evening I'll eat before we go to the park, then I'll fast 19 hours again until tomorrow early afternoon. Not sure what I'll be eating yet...maybe soup if the weather's not too hot for it!

 

[RedBobbin]

I can't believe how fast the week's shot by. It's hot here again today, too hot for soup really so I'm all set to break the fast with chicken salad later, and tonight I'll have nachos made with cucumber slices in place of the corn chips...and no cheese, or sour cream. Maybe a little avocado though. Will see how the number crunching works out.

M is weighing himself every morning...and night. LOL. And he keeps asking me if he looks different yet.
He did say I look different (!), so I'm forgiving him his irritating little weighs...

 

[RedBobbin]

2.7 lbs off this week. Yay! :bliss:

I have three dining out situations to navigate between now and next weigh in.
First is a girls lunch out tomorrow for a friend who's getting married in a few weeks. The SIL will be there with her eagle eyes on me...joy!
Second is a barbeque with some of M's workmates and significant others on Saturday night. Third is a birthday meal out for my brother on Tuesday. SIL alert. Again!

...These meals out all fall on planned non fasting days, luckily. Hoping to do enough damage limitation to still lose a pound next week.

 

[RedBobbin]

Survived the lunch! And the SIL. Almost unscathed.
I overdid the intake a bit with a bite of my friend's lemon cheesecake. Just one bite....and actually it was verrrrry sweet. So sweet it kind of hurt my mouth and throat!

I ordered a salad for my main which had quite generous portions of three types of cheese. I left the warm, delicious smelling roll and butter that came with it. Also had a glass of wine and two small bottles of sparkling water.
Then I had coffee with cream, and the bite of cheesecake. Plus a few grapes.
I'll admit I was tempted by the bread roll today. The wine, which came half an hour before my meal (a couple of the others ordered entrees) seemed to ramp up my appetite.

Tonight we have a BBQ and I've decided not to drink anything but water. Food intake I'll be careful about too. We're taking some of the great wild pork sausages from the farmer's market and some coleslaw that has a reasonably healthy dressing, and chopped macadamias through it (M's special).

The kids will be with their grandma tonight and they've convinced her to let them make pizzas again. She's taking them to a cousin's birthday party tomorrow morning so M and I will get a nice long lie in if we want. Though M is talking about a walk along the riverbank. We'll see!

Hmmm can't help noticing there's rather a lot of food talk in this update. I am actually feeling a little more hungry in general this week. Maybe because I upped my exercise??? <-- Oh look I talked about exercise too!

 

[RedBobbin]

Late update.

OK...the not so good news. I only managed one fast day this week. That was Monday. Mondays are always rock solid for me. But last night - today's fast didn't happen because I was invited along to a lunch with M's boss to talk details about a probable re-location (big re-location!). I'd thought I might fast tonight tomorrow instead but I'm feeling a bit unfocused and disorganised, so I'm letting myself off the hook. Just this week.
M's boss mentioned the possibility of this major change for us at the BBQ last weekend so we've been a bit unsettled ever since. It's funny but in M's case he knuckled down and stuck to his self imposed dieting rules even harder, but I've been a bit all over the place and have only kept to 1800 cals or under 2 out of the last 6 non fasting days. ...This whole week has been so-so and I am expecting that to show on the scales tomorrow!

The good news is that the re-location (to NZ) is exactly what we were hoping for...eventually. We just didnt expect things to take off so quickly. M had an interview and got a grand tour of the set-up down there last month and suggestions were made that he would be perfect for this upcoming position, but no indication given that it would be this year. We actually thought maybe, best case scenario...early 2015!!!

Anyway, I need to start getting my head around things, and not let my weightloss progress slip. We have three nights away booked over this coming weekend. We'll have a full kitchen and will be taking good supplies so there's no good reason for letting things slide too much.
Feeling especially grateful for M's timing doing this dieting lark with me because he's taking some of the responsibility for healthy meal planning and getting prepared food-wise for our break away. He loves cooking. He just doesn't get time during the week.
I got him the Hairy Dieter's Book (after a recommendation on here) which was a big hit! My Mum got us the DVD because we missed them on TV so will take that to watch this weekend...might keep us on track?

RB

 

[RedBobbin]

Up with the sparrows to WI with hubby before he heads to work.

This week is a big fat gain of 1/2 pound.

...I've decided to channel some of my annoyance at myself into making tonight through Friday a fasting day. I'll see how it goes but I might be able to fast one of our days away too. Don't really want to but would hate another poor week on the scales next week.

 

[RedBobbin]

Had a sub-1800 cal day and fast started at 6pm.
M has tomorrow off work so we're going to do some food prep in the morning (he wants to make a hairy bikers lasagne to take with us) and I'll break my fast around 1pm and keep cals to 500 for the day. I'm going to get all the greens I can out of the garden to wash and crisp up.
A neighbour brought some extra from his garden too so we're spoilt for salad stuff. Our cool box is going to be stuffed full! Also taking a tray of free range eggs, ham and will get some fresh fish while we're there. Got some nice new potatoes that the kids and M will have just scrubbed, boiled with salt and butter. Aiming to keep things simple as possible. My lovely mum baked some of her family-famous brownie for the boys so they'll still have treats. Taking figs and macadamias for us grown ups.
So much food talk! Always happens when I'm on a fast day...

 

[RedBobbin]

I've had probs w my laptop lately when updating Minimins so I lost a mega update earlier in the week.

Bullet points *fingers crossed this doesn't seize up!*

* 3 awesome nights away, decisions made around our overseas shift, our house....and a row/stand-off with the sister-in-law who wants to rent our home but ONLY if we go ahead with the extension we had planned. No consideration from her that we might need that oney now we're moving to the other side of the world!! Even without the proposed extension our home is 40% bigger than the house they're living in now. Much nicer area too, so they'd be upgrading any way you look at it.

* 2.8lbs off this week! Woot!

* I fasted 3 days this week, including Sunday/Monday while we were away.

* We ate out twice while we were away. Saturday evening at a seafood place and Sunday morning brunch at an amazing cafe. I ate plenty and just avoided sugar and bread or anything made from wheat.

*I got lots of lovely exercise walking by the sea, got a tan, and ranted at length to my ever patient husband about my terrible, inconsiderate sister-in-law.

 

[RedBobbin]

2.1 lbs loss this week. Fast days were Monday and Wednesday. I attended a birthday lunch out on Sunday and had a meal out last Friday night too, so I'm pretty chuffed to get over 2 lbs actually. Just love this way of eating!

I haven't been as motivated to post updates here because I've been more active on other forums lately! One as a soon to be ex-pat, and also on an intermittent fasting forum where discussion about the 5:2 diet is a tad more lively.

M has all next week off and we're going to get a few small jobs done around here, plus we'll start packing a few things for shipping! Eeek. Fasting days are scheduled to be Monday and Wednesday again. (I'm soooo predictable!)

 

[RedBobbin]

1.6 lbs loss this week. Happy with that considering I probably went a bit over 1800 cals on a couple of my non fasting days. Both times were due to outings, not through having the wrong stuff at home.
We've been really disciplined at home, extra good considering all the work we've been doing. For a nice treat M took me out to lunch one day, and I had dinner with a couple of girlfriends on Tuesday.

So our exercise this week was packing, sorting, and clearing out a shed...and the garage! M successfully sold a few things on ebay. Next week it's all about cleaning. (Joy!)

The kids are super-excited about the move. They have happy, happy memories of time spent in NZ, and of fun with cousins out there close to their own age.

Tea break's up. Hubby's cracking the whip!

 

[MissKC]

Hi,

Just read through your diary (hope you don't mind) I have friend who is ding well on the 5:2 fasting, after reading your diary I am thinking I'll invest in the book and learn a bit more - In the past I've gone for quick wins, that lets face it always end up as losers !!

Thanks for the inspiration