The FastDay Forum

@lil I will have the last of the turkey cabbage soup tonight. It is very tasty. half lb ground turkey, diced onion and celery, half head cabbage shredded, chicken bullion, 1 tsp caraway seed. s&p, small can of dice tomato, all sauted in a tsp evoo until softened then cover with water and simmer. I know it's low cal and am sure your husband would enjoy it also. Out shopping with my daughter last night brought a smile to my face...now in size 12 pants! I can hardly wait for my abs to catch up with the rest of me. So I am down 3 pant sizes now. Tomorrow my only day off before Christmas so there is lots to do. Order seafood when out for your get togethers and you will reach your Christmas goal.

It is a great feeling when you can fit smaller clothes isn't it@clairemarie? Although I find it sad to say goodbye to some old favourites. Have you bought yourself something new to wear at Christmas?
We have got on quite well today . The outside lights are up but not working. Hubby thinks it is a connection but we lost the light so that will be sorted tomorrow.We are thinking of putting one more lot up outside just trying to work out how to get the power to them. We have put up lots of lights in the house and tomorrow the decorations start to go up. I will be at work so the tree will probably be on Friday.
Your soup sounds very nice . I make homemade soup every week with all the left over bits in the fridge with some added onion, celery and peppers. We have that for lunch most days, only non fasting days for me!
I think it's time for a bit of Corrie now......

Morning@clairemarie Although I hope you are still firmly in the land of nod at the moment. I've had a busy weekend with my eldest home for a birthday weekend. We had 9 for breakfast and 8 for lunch yesterday . We were out at a work dinner on Saturday night and didn't get in till 1 am so I was a bit weary by the end of the day. I have put on 0.6lb this week but at the moment I am just doing what fasting I can and accepting that this is the festive season and I will be able to repair the damage next year. I have been getting a lot of comments about how much weight I have lost as I have been meeting up with quite a few people I have not seen for some time so that is gratifying but I mustn't rest on my laurels!
We are shortly going out to the supermarket to do the 'big shop' and then we are going to a street market we have in our town to buy the fruit and veg. My daughter arrived home from Germany yesterday so she is around to help. She is also doing 5:2 so we are fasting together today. I am planning a fish pie - a hairy dieters recipe for this evening. Hope your day goes well!

Merry Christmas@Lil I hope you and yours have a wonderful time together. I feel so blessed that I will be surrounded by family and that I only have 15lbs to go to reach my goal weight! It is a time of celebration and I will not pretend that I could fast this week but I will practice RESTRAINT. Also a sad time as my cousin passed away suddenly yesterday. So with so much going on in the next week I will check in with you for the new year. When you are enjoying your Christmas cheer know that I will be thinking of you and all the support you have given me. Enjoy everything with RESTRAINT.

Good morning@Lil my weigh in today was not all that bad, just up by half lb. With all the junk food, and carbs, and decadent food I can tell you my energy levels have fallen to a negative 20! Today will be a welcome fast for sure. How did things go for you?

Hello@clairemarie I wasn't expecting to hear from you till the New Year.Yes we've had a good Christmas.Down to just the 2 of us again. My daughter flew back to Berlin this morning and my younger son has gone to Scotland for New Year celebrations. He has about an 8 hour drive today so I will be glad when I hear he's arrive safely. We are having a party on New Year's Eve for around 40 people so just been out to do another big shop. I have not done as well as you over Christmas - just over a pound up on last Monday but that was up a bit on the week before. I expect after New Year I shall be up about 3lb again as in previous years. I am fasting today going OK so far although a bit of a shock to the system. I am doing some extra days at work this week and there are still a lot of Christmas goodies around but I womanfully resisted them. Are you back at work this week?

@Lilmy only day off was Christmas Day so I am exhausted. Today I will start at 3p to cover someone's vacation. I am not much for New Years Eve celebrations but I will have my grandson and plan to bake chocolate chip cookies and watch movies. I am looking forward to just the two of us spending quality time together. Santa brought me a Soda Stream machine this year. I don't drink soda but it makes great sparkling water.

New Year always involves a party for us together with some friends we have always celebrated with since university. We often seem to end up as hosts as we have a house that is good for parties. This year the dress code is snazzy spectacles and i have just been customising a pair of party specs with stick on gems - I can wear my own underneath which is vital if I am to see anything. The theme is also based on the UN Year of Light in 2015. I have a dress I bought in a charity shop which is the colour of the Northern lights. This year as it is the 2nd time in a row we have hosted a lot of people are bringing a contribution so not too much cooking to do.
We also have a soda stream which we just use for making fizzy water - nice on a fast day especially in the summer with a bit of mint and cucumber in it.

Morning @clairemarie! Well the New Year starts here. I have had another gain this week But not completely unexpected. Only one fast day last week , a big party, New Year's day lunch and then trying to finish up the left overs from the party. Back to normal from now on. I have been aquajog this morning. It is a nice day here and not too cold so I am going to do some winter pruning in the garden. Not sure what we will be eating tonight yet - something with fish I think. Good luck with your fast!

@Lil I hope todays fast was a success as the holidays have had a trickle up effect on your tracker. Sent my grandson home on New years day with all the remaining goodies. Dinner was crabmeat and cole slaw. I think seafood is great for fastday dinners. I feel as though my waist has gone down a bit more but I cannot find the tape measure . Now that my workday aches and pains have subsided I am now committed to some sort of workout routine. My taught with fat skin is now hanging all over my arms, abdomen, and inner thighs. It's an awful sight. On a somewhat happier note, at the recent funeral, I met cousins etc that I haven't seen in a very long time and they all said how wonderful I looked.
I am contemplating raising chickens for eggs. Do you have any experience with this? There are a lot of preditors around as the woods are full of coyotes and such. Still I want to try as I am planning a completely organic veg garden.

Yes I've had a good day@clairemarie We had the old favourite prawn curry. Just on 360 cals so far. I may have a few strawberries and a camomile tea for bedtime tonight. Back to work tomorrow! You've done better than me over the festive season - well done.

Hi there @clairemarie It's afternoon here already and my fast day is going well. I was at aqua this morning as I can't make my usual afternoon class and then I have taken all the decorations off the Christmas tree Hubby too all the others down yesterday but I was at work and then out to book club so the tree had to wait as I know where all the different things are stored. I do wish we could at least keep the lights up a bit longer at this dark time of year. When we were in Iceland last February they told us it is customary to keep their Christmas lights up till the spring equinox as their winters are so dark - a very good idea I think.
My Libra trend weight has just turned around from it's post Christmas/New Year upward trajectory - let's hope it keeps going that way!

@Lil, great news on your Libra trend! Salmon with mustard and dill for me tonight with a side of assorted root veg(frozen). I am so very glad that all the Christmas goodies are gone. I found this year that I enjoyed them but in little doses and I really didn't crave more. Perhaps my carb monster has finally been tamed. It is a sad day when all gets put way for another year isn't it? I am keeping my white lights out of the Christmas storage box this year so that we can light the backyard when we have evening company. My daughter received an outdoor firepit for Christmas so I think we shall try a winter cookout with hot drinks sometime very soon. I am enjoying my little house in the woods and feel this is where I should have been all my life. What a great daughter I have to make it all possible. Tomorrow is my day off and the weather is to be frigid so the fire will be on and I am roasting a turkey that I got a fantastic buy on. I might even keep my pj's on all day...we'll see.

Happy New Year to my cousin @clairemarie!
Sounds like life is good! xx

Hello@CandiceMarie and a very happy new year to you! Yes, life has changed quite a bit for me in the past year but finally I am happy and content. And I am losing weight at a steady pace now. So what is different? Is it a very physically active job or no more stress? I will never know for sure. Now that holidays have passed I am planning a fantastic veg garden and very possibly raising for chickens. So there's lots more to look forward to in the coming spring. I also truly believe I will reach my goal weight in the next 4 months so I will have to buy sliky new new clothes lol! How is your progress?