5:2 Fourth week

I started this week (on a Thursday) by seriously considering giving this whole thing up.  It probably didn’t help that we went out to lunch (not something we do very often) and so when I weighed myself on the Saturday (just out of curiosity) I had gone back to 10st 6lbs. It was a fast day and by mid-morning I was feeling very grumpy and hungry and really not concentrating at all well.  This was a pain, because I wanted to start planning for the service I have in a fortnight and it made it very difficult so I had to give up on that and that made me even more grumpier.  So then I had a think and I decided that I wouldn’t have a fast day after all, but I would have a “eat as little as I am comfortable with” day instead.  I went and had some toast and marmalade, felt much better and got on really well, with a short break for some very frugal soup and another slice of toast.  My frugal soup was all the spare veg I had in the fridge, a bit of chilli and a tin of tomatoes, boiled up and then pureed, it gave me several portions that worked out at 35 calories each – yes, THAT frugal.  Scrambled egg and salmon plus stewed fruit and yogurt in the evening, but I didn’t count the calories because I DIDN’T WANT TO!

So, on Sunday I decided to have another very good day but not an actual fasting day.  Just my prunes with a bit of yogurt but no cereal in the morning. Frugal soup and toast at lunchtime,  and due to major cock-up on the catering front, beans on toast for dinner.

Yesterday (Wednesday) I must just have been in the right mood.  I had finished my dinner by 7.00 p.m on Tuesday and didn’t eat again until 7.00 p.m. ! Apart from my morning coffee I just had water, sometimes with a dash of lemon juice, and then in the evening I thoroughly enjoyed steamed cod, lots of veg, rice pudding and stewed apple. 490 calories. I didn’t sleep very well tho’

And now it is Thursday again.  My measurements are still the same, my trousers are still as tight, although I am down to 10st 3lbs (but that’s after the fast so it will go up again)  So what am I doing wrong?  I promise I am not going mad in between, in fact this week I have been extra good all week after last Thursday’s blow out.  Answers on a post card please…

Not about the diet

Yesterday was a cooking day.  Some of you will know that I regularly cook up casseroles and stews in large quantities so that I can take full advantage of the oven being on, freeze up individual portions of things for my mum to put in the microwave and double portions for us too.  I made a chicken curry first.  This is my own very quick and simple recipe – foodies look away now as it uses both curry powder and stock cubes.  First, decide how many portions you want to make and then assemble enough chicken, chopped, about half an onion and a carrot per portion, 3 or 4 unsulphured dried apricots per portion and as much curry powder as you might usually use of whatever strength you prefer.  I use a heaped teaspoon per 2 portions of Tesco’s mild.  Fry the onion off, add the chicken and the curry powder and give it a good stir to coat the chicken, then add the carrots, the apricots, chopped small, enough water to stop it boiling dry and one, or if more than about 8 portions, 2, Beef Oxo cubes.  Yes, I did say beef.  Simmer, keeping an eye on the fluid level for about ¾ of an hour on the hob, covered, or about an hour or so at 180 C in the oven

Then I did a beef casserole, skirt, onions, carrots, mushrooms and red wine, with bay leaf and a little bit of cinnamon, or some juniper berries.  I left the mushrooms whole as they will be separated from the rest and made into a chunky low calorie pasta sauce for me when OH has  tomato sauce and cheese on his.  As I was taking him to the dentist in the afternoon I put that in the oven on the timer and we had some for our dinner.  I shall try to have a fasting day today.  Wish me luck!

5:2 Third week

Life was a bit complicated this week so I ended up doing my fasts on Sunday and Wednesday.  For reasons I needn’t bore you with I didn’t go to church so I went all day until 6.00 and then had my usual salmon and scrambled egg followed by an extra-large dollop of stewed apple and some yoghurt which made the day’s total 445.

On Wednesday I had quite a lot to do at home so again I went without food ( but plenty of water and some coffee of course) all day and then had dinner at 6.  I even went outside and did a very little bit in the garden!!!  I planted the 6 broad bean plants that had been growing on the kitchen windowsill, but I think I had better cover them up with some fleece at night for a while.  Dinner was steamed cod and lots of veg followed by a small pot of rice pudding with some stewed apple and dried cherries.  I had to add the rice pudding to make up the calories, total was 470.

So here we are on a Thursday again.  Measurements are 41:35:39.  Yes, the one place I didn’t want to lose any inches is the place I have lost one.  Fat content is down by 0.1%.  Well, it’s a start but I still have 1.3% to go before I’m (just) back into the safe zone.  And the weight – well, bearing in mind that I fasted only yesterday and am going out for a slap up lunch today my 10st 4lbs must be taken with a pinch of salt.  That’s 3½ lbs in 3 weeks.  Frankly I am beginning to lose heart.  I have no way of knowing if the health benefits claimed are happening or not and I think I  would have lost more weight if I’d just eaten extra sensibly 6 days out of 7.  Contrary to what has been said by a lot of people I actually don’t get on very well and struggle to concentrate on the fast days.  I will give it one more week.

5:2 The second week

This is probably very boring, but it’s part of the process of keeping me at it so bear with me

I fasted again on the Tuesday, my first meal was about 1.00 pm and I had my home made veg soup and a tiny protein sandwich again which all came to 175 calories.  It was a beautiful day and I was able to hang washing out which always makes me feel better (dear me, I really do need to get a life don’t I LOL)  I did usual sort of housework things and crafting things and caught up with a bit of tele that I had recorded and we had our evening meal at 7.30pm Steamed cod and lots of veg but no carbs and then a little dollop of stewed fruit after.  That only came out at 275 so I allowed myself 20 cals worth of tomato ketchup on the fish and it made a big difference.  So, Tuesdays total 450

As I started this on a Thursday I weighed and measured myself the following Thursday (7^th March) I was very disappointed to find that my weight had only dropped by 1lb, my bust and hips and fat content were unchanged and my waist had gone UP by an inch!  I can honestly say that I did not eat any more than usual on my normal days, in fact, having learned that what I was interpreting as hunger was in fact thirst, I had probably eaten a bit less.  So I was a bit downhearted to say the least.  But, I know not everyone reacts to these things the same way.  However, I decided not to blog until another week had passed and I would hopefully then have some better news.

I had my next fast day on the Saturday.  I do wonder if part of my problem is the lack of exercise.  The weather was foul so I really didn’t want to go out for a walk, and I am still a bit worried about coming over all peculiar while I am out, so I thought I might do a bit on the Wii.  Managed 20 mins and it said I had burnt 75 calories.  I am not going to tell you what my WiiFit age was, but that was because I got confused over the memory test. Total was 480 cals

Tuesday was difficult.  Unusually I felt a bit hungry when I woke up and although my morning coffee (which I always have black without sugar anyway) helped a bit, I was looking forward to my soup from quite early on.  I had been intending trying to go the whole day but it was not to be.  Maybe the little bit of exercise I did the day before, walking to the heath and back in the driving snow, had something to do with it.  Steamed fish and veggies, followed by the bit of stewed apple I rescued from the burning saucepan (yes, I did it again!) and I was able to afford a dollop of yoghurt on it. 430 calories! But only because the bit of fish was smaller than I realised.

And now it is Thursday. I did my weighing and measuring this morning.  The waist is back to 35, so that’s something, otherwise measurements as before, fat content unchanged, weight down another 1lb.  Disheartened.  And I’ve been feeling quite depressed all week, to the point that I let off quite a bit of steam at Bible study on Monday, which is not like me.  Suddenly, after a long time of not minding, I wish I could have a holiday.  But, enough of this!!!!  Onwards and upwards.

5:2 My second frugal day

Until I see how I settle down with the fasting days I am going to find it difficult to have set days on which to do it, so as I woke up not feeling particularly hungry and as we often have only a light evening meal on a Saturday anyway, I decided today would be a good day to have my second day.  As I am not in the habit of having breakfast as soon as I get up, I thought I would wait for as long as I could then go out and get shopping once I had eaten, later in the morning.  When I was at work I always skipped breakfast and had something once I was at the office, although it wasn’t usually something very healthy.

Well, it seems that this could be my best strategy because in the end I didn’t eat until 12.45.  I worked out what I was going to have for my evening meal and then I knew how many calories I could have for my other meal.  I had some pastrami left over from yesterday (50 cals) so I made a very frugal sandwich by cutting 2 very thin slices of bread and then taking the crusts off, which brought it down to 60 cals, and a bowl of my soup that I made last time (80 cals).  Total lunch calories 190.  This means I might be able to have a little bit of stewed fruit for afters tonight!  And I took my time over it, about half an hour, while reading The Week.  I know that in the book it suggests that you don’t do anything else when eating but I find it helps to slow me down.  I felt quite satisfied with this meagre repast

When I looked at what was in the house I decided I didn’t need to go shopping so I did housework instead and some crocheting and some card making.  Also, my lovely husband has decided to support me by trying to do it as well.  We have agreed that he will have what I have in the evening and he will experiment with the things that he is able to do for himself for the rest of the day, on the strict understanding that he doesn’t carry on if it makes him feel rough.  The usual plaintive call of “isthereanycake” has been changed into the even more plaintive “nobiscuitsnobiscuits”.

I didn’t sit down for a cup of tea until about 16.45 (lemon and ginger herbal) and I was quite surprised at how easy it was to not have anything to eat with it.  As the book says, a lot of eating (in between meals particularly), is about habit and wanting, not hunger and needing.

We are going to put the evening meal off for as long as we can as we have realised that one of our favourite TV programmes is on, which means not going to bed until nearly 23.00.  We are hoping to wait until at least 19.30.  Funnily enough it is something that we often have anyway, scrambled egg and smoked salmon.  Two eggs and 50g salmon each, (270 calories) no fat or milk added to the pan, and then yes, what joy, 50g of stewed apple for afters.  I stew apple in industrial quantities as hubby likes that best of all, but over the years I have decreased the amount of sugar I put with it and now only use 10% of the weight of the apples which means 50g of it is only 35 cals!  Total for the day 495 calories     RESULT!