Hi all!
I thought it was time to sign up and say 'hi!' considering I've been lurking here for some weeks now. I may as well tell you my story, so make a nice tea, and read on if you wish.
I'm a 174cm tall aussie gal who got the shock of her life at the start of the year when, around my 40th birthday, I discovered I'd crept up to 90kg and was teetering on the edge of obesity! I only found out because I was starting to go through testing to donate a kidney to my sister, and the transplant coordinator flagged that often obesity can rule a person out of donating. Something had to be done!
I've never really been bothered by my weight - I'd lost over 10kgs several years ago when I went through a major depressive episode. I've realised now that without really knowing it I was essentially following an intermittent fast lifestyle back then! I later met the love of my life; he came over to Oz to join me and I proceeded to get quite comfortable, with someone to cook for me even if I felt down and not hungry. Somehow over the 4 years I guess the weight slowly crept up and insinuated itself on me. Can't imagine how it happened
So, I decided it was time to research (yup, I take a little time to leap into action!) I'd seen the MM show last year, and thought it was worth looking into. I found your website because I was looking for some academic research into 5:2, and I have to say, this has been an informative forum!
I started recording my eating & exercising nearly 8 weeks ago on a calorie counter app, both fast days and feast days, and I've not really looked back. The first few weeks I lost pretty quickly - partly because of the normal water weight loss and partly because at first I was only eating about 1300 on feast days (well, that was all I really felt like eating). Reading more on 5:2 I'm now trying to average my feast days around 1700 (TDEE for my goal weight) and while the rate of loss has sloweda bit, the trend line is definitely pointing in the right direction.
I'd like to say thanks to everyone on this site for giving me some great "food for thought" as I've been starting out on this way of life. It's been encouraging to hear from so many who have been trying different things and sharing their experiences. I'm cureently about a third of the way to my goal weight, and while I know I may not be having to donate my kidney in the near future (my brother's first in line for that honour) I'm looking forward to all the other health benefits that come with this way of life (my dad's suffering from Alzheimers Dementia, so I've a vested interset in keeping my risk factors down too).
So, that's me! Thanks for reading, thanks especially to all who do a great job posting, and keep up the great work.
I thought it was time to sign up and say 'hi!' considering I've been lurking here for some weeks now. I may as well tell you my story, so make a nice tea, and read on if you wish.
I'm a 174cm tall aussie gal who got the shock of her life at the start of the year when, around my 40th birthday, I discovered I'd crept up to 90kg and was teetering on the edge of obesity! I only found out because I was starting to go through testing to donate a kidney to my sister, and the transplant coordinator flagged that often obesity can rule a person out of donating. Something had to be done!
I've never really been bothered by my weight - I'd lost over 10kgs several years ago when I went through a major depressive episode. I've realised now that without really knowing it I was essentially following an intermittent fast lifestyle back then! I later met the love of my life; he came over to Oz to join me and I proceeded to get quite comfortable, with someone to cook for me even if I felt down and not hungry. Somehow over the 4 years I guess the weight slowly crept up and insinuated itself on me. Can't imagine how it happened
So, I decided it was time to research (yup, I take a little time to leap into action!) I'd seen the MM show last year, and thought it was worth looking into. I found your website because I was looking for some academic research into 5:2, and I have to say, this has been an informative forum!
I started recording my eating & exercising nearly 8 weeks ago on a calorie counter app, both fast days and feast days, and I've not really looked back. The first few weeks I lost pretty quickly - partly because of the normal water weight loss and partly because at first I was only eating about 1300 on feast days (well, that was all I really felt like eating). Reading more on 5:2 I'm now trying to average my feast days around 1700 (TDEE for my goal weight) and while the rate of loss has sloweda bit, the trend line is definitely pointing in the right direction.
I'd like to say thanks to everyone on this site for giving me some great "food for thought" as I've been starting out on this way of life. It's been encouraging to hear from so many who have been trying different things and sharing their experiences. I'm cureently about a third of the way to my goal weight, and while I know I may not be having to donate my kidney in the near future (my brother's first in line for that honour) I'm looking forward to all the other health benefits that come with this way of life (my dad's suffering from Alzheimers Dementia, so I've a vested interset in keeping my risk factors down too).
So, that's me! Thanks for reading, thanks especially to all who do a great job posting, and keep up the great work.
Sounds as though we both have great sisters. Hope yours is ok.
PeonyBlue. You sound in the right place mentally to really give this fab WOL a good go and I'm sure you will achieve your goal and gain all the health benefits as a bonus! Welcome and good luck! 
