The FastDay Forum

@daydreamer21 I am the same no cold or flu since starting fasting. Fingers crossed that will prevail. Am not now in a office with air conditioning squashed into close desk pods next to coughing colleagues either. am sure that helps

I will give you my cauliflower au gratin as it is scrummy and had a small serve with big salad.

Cauliflower 1 whole broken into evenly sized flowerettes bigger than a golf ball
Water 1/4 cup
1 dessertspoon butter
2 tbspns gluten free flour
300 mls lite milk
Grated Nutmeg generous sprinkle
A few Grinds of Sea salt and peppercorns
Grated cheese I mixed mozzarella and haloumi (save some for topping)

Topping
2 tbsns Seedy nut mix of almond flakes, sesame seeds, pepita and sunflower seeds
2 tbspns Finely Chopped green and white spring onion
1 tbspn Italian parsley some stalk and leaves finely chop stems and roughly chop leaves
1/3 of the saved grated cheese

I nuked a cauliflower in water until still tad firm firm drained off water. Place pieces into a lightly buttered pie dish neatly arranged in one layer.
Make cheats béchamel sauce, I nuke the butter in a Pyrex glass jug 1 minute add the flour and mix until smooth paste then I add the milk and whisk until smooth. I nuke this for 1 minute then take out and mix again to smooth and might need to nuke again 30 sec to 1minute. Then I add the 2/3 of cheese, nutmeg and the salt and pepper. The heat of sauce melts the cheese and you just have to whisk to amalgamate pour creamy sauce over the top of the cauliflower to cover.

Combine the topping ingredients and sprinkle over the top of the cauliflower. Bake the cauliflower in oven until the top is golden which will be at least 30 minutes, but keep,an eye on it.

Serve with a salad of mixed lettuce leaves I used a soft red coral and small cos over which I sprinkled match sized sticks capsicum and carrots, finely shredded celery and white spring onion and 2 teaspoons of finely chopped fresh dill. Yummy

Um, @gillmary, can I come to visit? Only about 15 hours up the princes highway. On a fast day (or any other day I'm sure!) that sounds too delish for words!!

Oh do try it, @jools7 I have a thing for cauliflower, reheats well and I was pretty chuffed how well they sprinkle worked. Yep that is the direction Melbourne to my place. Very pretty drive up the coast isn't it. When were you here last enjoying our beautiful natural surrounds.

Thanks for the recipe @gillymary sounds delish!

My fast day felt really tough yesterday. I have a lot of stress at work at the moment and its approaching "that time of the month" so I'm super miserable and snappy. But I remembered I'm meeting up with a friend tonight for dinner and drinks so I stuck at it! Although sadly on the scales yesterday morning I saw it jump up almost 2kg!!!!! I did eat dinner very late the night before though and it was carb heavy so that's my reasoning lol. I'm so happy tomorrow is Friday, I feel exhausted this week!!

@Sue.Q @daydreamer21 and @jools7 hello buddies

Been a busy week just about ready to hit the sack but thought I would drop in and update. It is time for me to get back to the gym have had enough time away. Hip tweaking but think it is more now from inactivity so hopefully I can hit the gym tomorrow sometime and get some decent stretches in after I warm up I won't be a hero no HIT just regular fare

Sammy it is always hard being back at work after a break, know the feeling. Best of luck with the scales. Sue hope you had a lovely dinner out and all is well. Jools hope the week is panning out well. Have to dive back into JO cookbook for some inspiration for weekend cooking.

Cheers buddies I am off now

good night, @gillymary and all, I have been being kept busy by my emerging identity as a writer, over in the mountaineer's tent - I'm really getting a buzz from writing about things that matter to me.

I haven't been down the Shoalhaven for many years, probably before my eldest son(now 23) was born. I have flown over it a couple of times when they take the eastern route from Sydney to Melbourne, it looks absolutely glorious from the air. Lucky you to live in such beautiful surroundings! I must make another visit ASAP

goodnight all!

@gillymary @daydreamer21And @jools7
Hi fasting buddies hope you're all OK and enjoying the weekend. Happy birthday Jools.
My quiet moments have been due to some sort of head cold bug going around and one moment I'm OK then 2 hrs later almost ready for bed. Lol
Also completely demoralised with whatever is going on with the scales and haven't yet updated tracker this week because I couldn't get a consistent reading so my plan is to not use the scales for a month or so and just use the tape measure and clothing
( of which there's no change yet either) if I just saw a few ounces lost each week for the effort put in that would be absolutely brilliant I'm not looking for several pound weekly I'm so happy with my achievements and even getting used to almost liking the way I look so anything from now on would be a bonus and obviously motivational booster, surely my body can't have reached the "set point"thingy with another 50lbs go lose no way.
Once again I did back2back fasts and had that "thinner" feeling all day Wednesday, and had a good meal out with my ex work colleagues but didn't feel well enough to stay much longer and yes I ate just a little too much. (Indigestion)
Hopefully only 2 more busy weeks left from family stuff sorting then I can get my life back again and get back to more serious walking than I'm putting in at the moment.
Sue

Take dear buddie @Sue.Q who am I to know but for being on a very unwilling plateau since August last year. Positively it looks glass half fulI, have maintained my lost 12kg. Recovery from Christmas has just started to happen again with 300 grams. Have an issue which is holding me back but managing weekly 6:1 low cal fluid fast and 16:8 at least. I did 16:8x3 & 5:2 fluid fasting for 2 months that was way too much for me also found the more I fasted there was no difference. Think stress levels play a big part. I am finding the 'refeed' means for me is just eating healthy with animal protein either lamb, turkey and fish, fruit, salad and lots of plant based meals and healthy fats. Trying to maintain low carbs major wheat reduction though need a bit of a trickle here and there and my other carbs are bit of honey to sweeten my tea and chocolate and very small amount of wine. Very little cake.

I will return to 5:2 eventually but understand from Amanda Salis we can expect to stop loosing and have 'famine effect' in our journey. Agree with you to enjoy your achievement and take some time to reboot

It is a pleasant way to eat I find and for me is even healthier than before 5:2, which is surprising as I thought I was pretty healthy eater. My most common drink now is tap and mineral water.

Happy birthday @jools7 and waves @daydreamer21

I appreciate your care in keeping in mind my interest in a group @gillymary. @jools7 mentioned the possibility of a tent which is an awesome idea.
My apologies for not getting back to you sooner. This week has seen the 5:2 reemerge in my week. Which has consumed me. But its gone brilliantly. I'm good to keep going with 5:2 now I think.
I feel bad that I mention I'm after a buddy experience and then disappear. But i promise to always reply.
I hope everyones going okay. Uni starts monday so my visits will be brief but I'm not going to vanish. This forum means a lot to me.
Thanks once again
Jo

Hi @Jo05 Welcome and pop in for tea or coffee whenever you're passing.
Why not post again in the buddie tent again to explain your absence and recall for a fasting partner there are still members waiting im sure and get @Juliana.Rivers back
on your case.
Good Luck and take care. Sue

Morning @gillymary@Sue.Qand @jools7 (and welcome @Jo05 )

Hope you are all having a good weekend so far. Today is D day for my hair!!!!!! I'm excited but I didn't have great luck with it last night. I wanted to change the colour from dark brown/black to red....I dyed it and ended up with red roots and black hair So I ran out last night and quickly bought a colour remover, now I have light brown roots and dark brown hair I don't know what to do now!!!! My hair feels awful from the colour remover too now so I'm grateful it's all being chopped off.
I also received a letter from crown court yesterday telling me my deferred jury service is now the first 2 weeks of my summer holiday. I was in a really REALLY bad mood last night. I almost gave in on my fast day too, but I stayed strong with Jamie's encouragement. So I'm just forgetting yesterday ever happened, and I'm focusing on today, new haircut, dinner with a friend and I'm not fasting so I think I'll have a good time tonight
I had my official weigh in today and it was about 1.5kg down from last week so I'm happy! Next week is "that time" so my weight will probably go up but it's still going in the right direction for hitting my Easter target.
@jools7I hope you are having an amazing birthday. Did you do anything special?
@Sue.Q I'm sorry the scales are being so pooey right now for you. I know exactly how you feel, when I first started 5:2 my weight was all up and down all over the place and didn't really go anywhere. Maybe taking a break from weighing for awhile and just using the trusty old tape measure for awhile would be better. I'm glad to hear you had a good night out though. How is your head cold now hun? Hope you feel better
@gillymary how is your hip feeling now? Hopefully, like you say, its just from inactivity and won't prevent you from going to the gym frequently. You are so right, the first week back is so hard and for some reason the kids were absolutely mental this week! It's been a tiring week that's for sure. And it's very stressful at work which is making it even more tiring.

So my lovely ladies, what have we got planned for this weekend? My Saturday is busy and tomorrow I'm think I might just relax and have a pamper day before another week at work.

@Jo05 You're always welcome in here what are you studying at uni? I completely understand what you mean, I don't think I could survive my fasts without the support of this forum.

Jamie also fasted 5:2 this week, which is a great thing because he did it without me there guiding him. I am so so proud of him. He's finding it tough to sleep on fast days though and with him having ME that could be detrimental. But I think he's going to keep trying.

Sorry for my ramblings! Happy weekend all, lots of love

♥@daydreamer21@gillymary @jools7

Good Luck Sammy with the hair cut what a predicament you've got re: the colour hope all goes well for you today, Jammie won't recognise the new you next time you meet up, and enjoy you meal later.
I'm having a lazy day today at home because with feeling rough I've neglected my housework who cares. Lol.
Nice meal planed later with sirloin steak and whatever and of course a fine bottle of red.
Weather permitting I'll go for a walk tomorrow as I'm not up to it today then my "restart" of basic 5:2 on Monday.

:heart: Hi @Jo05 Welcome and pop in for tea or coffee whenever you're passing.
Why not post again in the buddie tent again to explain your absence and recall for a fasting partner there are still members waiting im sure and get @Juliana.Rivers back
on your case.
Good Luck and take care. Sue

Very kind of you Sue, thank you so much. I will pop in for coffee so I can avoid my uni work too. I'll go see the buddies tent and see whats happening too.
Good good wishes to you and your dear fellow travelers.
Jo

Thanks for the recipe @gillymary sounds delish!

My fast day felt really tough yesterday. I have a lot of stress at work at the moment and its approaching "that time of the month" so I'm super miserable and snappy. But I remembered I'm meeting up with a friend tonight for dinner and drinks so I stuck at it! Although sadly on the scales yesterday morning I saw it jump up almost 2kg!!!!! I did eat dinner very late the night before though and it was carb heavy so that's my reasoning lol. I'm so happy tomorrow is Friday, I feel exhausted this week!!

Dear @daydreamer21, thanks so much. I hope its all going ok for you, I love the photo btw. I'm studying social work, study I've not done few a couple of decades. I will be getting stuck into the study tomorrow, which means I might be visiting here to reduce stress a bit.
apologies for slow replies, it's kinda the best I can do at the moment, with my sleep still poor.
best wishes
Jo x