The FastDay Forum

@GMH. Yes you are so right. When I moved to Northumberland in 1998 from London, I remember it being odd that you couldn't get rocket leaves (arugula) oop north! Changed quite a bit since then! But I'm of an age when a red pepper used to be exotic!

I think that you've got a very interesting point @GMH about how instead of emphasising what not to eat, why not focus more on what to eat? Veggies veggies veggies.

I absolutely love veggies, but often find myself having a meal without veggies. Specially since I found I can't tolerate mushrooms - saddest food loss EVER. It means I rarely have eggs/omelettes for breakfast anymore, and am back to jam and cheese toast as my fallback breakfast. Also lunch, too often it's lacking veggies.

I think every now and then how maybe I should impose a "no treats until I've eaten all my veggies for the day" rule on myself. But I know how i rebel against any rules and worry it'll mean I stop eating them at all!

@KataMac yes I too am guilty of bread if I'm not organised. But a secret for you, spinach and cheese omelettes nice I often wonder if those people who say they eat all day if they have breakfast are eating toast or box cereal rather than protein n veg which keeps u full for hours..a decent bfst. That Dr 'South Beach Diet' says 4.5 cups of veg a day. Let me tell you there's no room for rubbish after that. But make the veggies nice, curries or butter on them or roast veg or eggplant parmagiana, or ratatouille etc. I'm mad for grilled cauliflower with olive oil...yum, chip substitute

Yeh I know cheese and spinach omelettes are nice, but they're even better with mushrooms, and I just need to get passed that in my head. Breakfast really makes a big difference for my day. I had sultana toast this morning, and now I'm eating a sugary muesli at 10am. If I'd had that omelette, I would be fine until lunch.

And you're right - so many amazingly good vegetable recipes. I even love them just lightly steamed with butter and salt.

It's in my head, it's all in my head, I just have to figure out how to harness it for good not evil.

Loving the wisdom of this thread. My most successful part of 5:2 was making the Fastday focus veggies. I now have 5:2 vegetarian by Celia Brooks which is a handy tome and she is one of our dear and much missed FatDog's fave authors. @GMH I agree keep veggies the hero in every meal.

I also have Grain Brain on disks still to be totally heard, but I do really feel for me it is important to turn wheat into just a sometimes had treat. I am noticing the impacts of wheat more on my body now that I consume it less often. So having definite reactions to wheat laden products I figure my body feels more comfortable with a lot less wheat. I also seems to have passed through the low carb fatigue I used to experience on other diets but that might be because my sugar cravings are escalated.

So that is my challenge shaking the carb sugar addiction as I do have a stronger sweet tooth. Having a munch on some dates, prunes or cocoa flakes and raiding the cupboard for the dark chocolate is my weakness. Only a non fast day but I agree @Peebles once the carbs have been ingested I just want to keep eating and I think wow this is crazy eating patterns. I often wonder what is it my body searching for when I am on one of those binge days. Then am glad to fit another fast day and on it goes like a seasaw

GMH I love veggie,come cook me some
I am just so lazy .i roast a big pot at beginning of the week and eat all week
How do make curry veg?
I used to be a vegetarian but now try to eat chicken ( don't like fish) but still prefer vegetarian food.i could live on bread and veg.but too much bread doesn't agree with me.
Gillymary,sometimes when I feel like that it's means I am thirsty

@Sarahg I just sautee onion, throw in some Parajs curry paste when they refraining, throw in green/Brown lentils, when coated I chuck in a can of 2 of coconut cream (not fast day food), depending on quantity I am making, like you, I like to make a big batch and freeze as I too and lazy. Cook for about 45 mins or whatever your packet says, less 15 mins. Add any veg u like, I do butternut, zucchini,eggplant or cauliflower, beans, spinach, or carrots, whatever I have bought, cook another 15 mins or so, test, add salt if required. Eat!

@KataMac, I love mushrooms too, we have a mushroom farm near me, freshly picked Brown's! omg, might have to call in! Have u had a 2nd opinion ;>)maybe you are allergic to something you ate them with.

Ahhhh fast day and that curry sounds delish ... It is written down and I will be making same ASAP thanks @GMH

Thanks GMH
Looking forward to trying it
Does it matter what curry paste I use and about how much?

@GMH It's definitely the mushrooms, but I need to look into whether it's an allergy or just an intolerance. Hopefully just an intolerance. I get foggy brain - it was so bad, I began to think I was getting early onset dementia. Okay, that was eating mushrooms everyday, and going through probably 500g-1kg a week just me. About 10 years ago I reacted to some dried shiitake mushrooms by coming out in a rash, and gradually ate other mushrooms again, eventually deciding that it was something done when they dried them rather than mushrooms per se. So not sure if it's related or not. I'm not allergic to anything else.

BTW as u can see I don't measure, but also needs water when cooking lentils, I forgot that AND u can put mashed potatoes or sweet potatoes on top in a baking dish, grated cheese, then under grill. Vego shepherds pie...delish!

I can understand how someone can make money by telling you that you have to eat a certain wonder food, especially if it's some expensive concoction that they have patented, but there are limits to how much money you can make by advising,people not to eat foods that are cheap and ubiquitous like grains. I for one feel much better for cutting right down on them and will not be joining in the rubbishing of Davis and Perlmutter

I am fortunate to live in a part of the U.S. that is completely ignored by tourists. When I see articles on what to visit in New England, it is always a list of towns I think of as tourist traps with overpriced food and no stores left that cater to the people who actually live there. I hope our area stays that way!

Re food in England. I spent some time in England in 1964 and a decade later in 1974, and the best food I ate was authentic Indian, but the actual English food was pretty awful. All that organ meat, kidney pies, and mutton. And gooseberries it seemed like at every meal. I stayed with families both times, and was shocked that I was allowed to drink in pubs in '64 as I was only 16. On my second visit, in early April, I concluded that the family I lived with had decided the easiest way to heat their home was to stay soused, as every time my lips turned blue from cold they would hand me another sherry. The only heat in the house was a little one bar thing in the fireplace, and, very oddly, a heated towel rack in the bathroom. The house temperature was in the 50s most of the time and I drank more sherry than I ever have before or since!

Re food here in New England, this time of year we can get wonderful vegetables at farm stands where the farmers sell them, and the local grocery also stocks a lot of the stuff grown at local farms (with the name of the farm on the shelf). But our growing season is very short, so the rest of the year we are getting stuff grown in Mexico and South America which has that commercial taste.

I don't buy much at Whole Foods as they are so overpriced and, to my tastes, pretentious. I don't think the food they sell on their buffet has much flavor, though I eat there if I'm shopping and have no other choice. Trader Joe's sells quite a bit of stuff I prefer, and then we have a locally owned organic coop in town, too.

The ethnic food here is what we prefer. We have a decent Chinese restaurant, an excellent Thai one--and there are two Thai restaurants in our county town, population 17,000. We have a place that makes authentic NY City style pizza and one that makes a really good Greek Pizza, an authentic Korean restaurant (squid in a lot of the dishes), a not very good Indian restaurant, a California style Mexican restaurant, and a Gyro shop. What we don't have oddly, is decent American food. But if I drive 30 miles I can find another dozen decent restaurants, too. Lucky--and you can see why I am always battling weight gain, as hubby has decided to spend our declining years now that the kids are gone eating out!

This is a very timely thread for me.

I have been absent from the forum for the past three weeks or so....because I have been busy sabotaging myself.

I had been totally engaged in the 5:2 WOL since starting on 25th Nov last year. I had 2 date goals for weight loss - April & July...and exceeded even my own expectations. Started exercising regularly, never once exceeded 500 cals, dabbled with 4:3 & 16:8....and generally felt absolutely brilliant, very chirpy, insanely happy (even though my life situation hadn't changed at all) and positively Tigger-like! Lost over three & a half stone. Joined in with the Valentines & Solstice challenges and fared very well in both - setting myself high targets as a means of keeping myself in check.

Fast-forward to right now.....and, despite signing up for the Springing into Fall challenge with another high target of 14lbs......I have suddenly stopped caring. Haven't used the tracker for 3 weeks, barely bother weighing myself and have returned to being a bit out of control & "don't-care ish " around food. Nothing has been off-limits, all the bad stuff, whole family bars of chocolate, big bags of prawn crackers, etc etc. My mood has seriously plummeted as a result.....life is not remotely funny right now.....but I seem to be avoiding facing up to it. I tell myself I am too busy to book time with myself to get in my head & see what's going on.....even though I know that's what is needed.

On the weight gain front, since it is now second nature to not eat before noon on every day of the week, I have been incredibly lucky - far more lucky than I deserve in fact. I forced myself to weigh this morning and have stayed at 11st 13.8lbs for the week. Even knowing that there is such a small buffer before I go back into the 12 stone-somethings has not made me wake up & take notice.

I know something is going on because I have ripped my fingernails off to the point that many of them hurt. My hands are always my barometer....I had so enjoyed having beautiful long painted nails for the past couple of months & feeling like a worthwhile person for a bit, but now.......I am ashamed of them and myself, but have no idea where to go from here......

If I'm honest, I logged on to see if anyone had missed me (fragile or what?) - a cursory glance indicated no. Was drawn to @peebles's post like a moth to a flame, because, for the past 4 or so months I have been walking on air, soaking up all the many compliments that have been coming my way on an almost daily basis and feeling fantastic. Why oh why then, would I exchange all these good things for feeling miserable, sluggish and hopeless? It makes no sense...and I'm blowed if I understand what is "making" me do what I am currently doing.......

I know I will have to try to get the forum habit back as a first step...as I have always found it so helpful & supportive.

Sorry if I have rambled on rather xx