Yep, I tried that one p.a. LOL I even have a book about it. (I think I have a book about every diet there is.) I had a hard time with the 2 500 calorie days because of the times when DH wants me to eat with him. It was OK sometimes, but I would start out doing a 500 cal day and then DH would want to go out to eat somewhere. So I would go, then I'd have to go back and do the 500 cals the next day. I agree that the 5 normal days are not supposed to be a lot of junk foods. There are some ladies on 3FC who do very well with 5:2.

I've managed to exercise 30 minutes on the recumbent bike for 5 days this week. Will decide tomorrow if I will do a 6th day. I have a pending membership on Intuitive Eating support group by the authors, Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch, of the book Intuitive Eating. I'm in the process of going back to eating the way I did when I was thin.

I'm also re-reading the book I bought years ago Thin for Life by an AnneM. Fletcher, MS., R.D. This is a book about Master who have lost weight (about half used a diet of their choosing, either one they found or one they designed for themselves and half who didn't diet at all) and kept it off for a minimum of 3 yrs and so far I've seen where some have stayed in maintenance for up to 25 yrs. She shares how they had a point where it clicked for them and they took control and responsibility themselves. She has put it down to 10 things they did and do to make their weight loss their own and how they made it work for them. She devotes a chapter for each one.

She said most diets come at things from the idea that "people may lose weight but they ALWAYS gain it back and more". She decided to see if she could find people who were successful at losing and maintaining the weight loss and was amazed at how many success stories were out there. She put their stories and what they learned in this book. To her amazement there were other doctors and nutritionists who were out there who did the same thing and even found a center that specialized in this approach.

She shares the myths that we have been made to believe so that we feel like even if we do lose weight we will just gain it all back and more or are even made to believe we can't lose it in the first place. I was amazed to find that the 1st thing that most Masters learned was that you had to forget the myths and Believe that you can be Thin for Life. The 2nd is Take the Reins. You have to be in control of what and how you are going to lose the weight. It is your choice. Once you decided don't let anyone else tell you what to do. This your plan and you are the one who is to make the decisions of what you are doing.

One woman had been overweight most of her childhood. If someone made remarks about her weight and how she would look so much better, she wouldn't diet. She told of a boyfriend who told her she would be a knock out if she lost weight. She said during the school year she would not diet, but in the summer time when he was not around that she dieted and lost weight. She realized that when people made those comments that it made her feel like her worth was determined by the scale and she would not diet. I think she was the one who finally met a guy who accepted her the way she was. She lost weight and then he dumped her because he couldn't stand other guys looking at her. She said even now if she isn't careful, her hubby will say something about her putting on a few lbs and she catches herself eating. But she has learned to watch for that because she realized her weight is his problem not hers as long as she doesn't let it be. She finally understands that "she doesn't want anyone else being responsible for her weight but her".

As I've read this book, I realize that I am that person myself. I don't want anyone else "policing" what I eat. I want to be totally responsible and in control of what I eat. I am the one who allowed myself to get into this situation. And as they say in this book, "You cannot hire anyone else to do this for you". I am the one who has to decide to take care of me.

I have been successful doing IE so many times before and I have decided that I am going to be again.

I'll check in from time to time. I'm trying to not be on the pc so much. I'm being more active than I have been in a long time.

Carol Sue How is your elbow doing?

p.a. I'm glad you are getting to travel. Your 5:2 works for a lot of people. It might be your way as well.

Y'all have a good weekend.

Today has been a great IE day and IF. Didn't really plan it that way but I hope it will continue. FBS was 112 when I broke my fast and I ended up eating within a 5 hr window. The wonderful thing about it is that I never felt deprived or anxious. I just pray that it will keep going this way. Ended up doing another 30 minutes on the bike again today giving me 5 days straight of using 30 minutes each day on the bike. :carrot:

I used to start dieting and finally somewhere along the way reluctantly making myself exercise. This time I've ended up with a full week of exercise before starting my eating plan. Maybe by turning it around I will find my way to being one of those "success" stories.

Doing great, Trish!

Actually, it's not so much my elbow bothering me as it is my back. I've been having shooting pains in my lower back for several days now. I had a visit with the Chiropractor yesterday and I'm scheduled for another one Monday. I hope this helps.

Carol Sue Sorry about your back. I hope the chiropractor visits help it get better soon.

I am having no problem with IE/IF. I did give in and have a piece of ham and cheese last night, but was within 10 hr eating window. However, my FBS was up some this morning but I had to break my fast earlier than usual with it being Sunday. FBS by the time I got ready to eat yesterday was 98. So I definitely have to deal with the "Dawn Phenomena" so am trying to learn to live with it.

Weight had gotten kind of high, but has come down about 2 lbs since I've switched to this way of eating. It is slow, but steady and that is the way it needs to be at my age. I think it has to do with finding what I call the rhythm of eating that your body likes (only because I can't remember the medical term I remember reading about yrs ago). Eating 2 meals a day and not eating breakfast was my way of eating most of my life and every time I've lost weight and kept it off for any length of time, I only ate 1 or 2 meals a day.

I had a difficult time deciding to eat the way that is normal for me because I promised my Daddy that I would never eat only 1 meal a day any more. He had a cousin who ate only 1 meal a day and had to have most of his colon removed when he got older. Daddy always thought it was because he only ate 1 meal a day. My theory is that he owned a restaurant and eating fast food everyday may have been the culprit because I remember how I felt when I ate only one meal a day and ate a lot of restaurant foods and a lot of them were salads. I wasn't getting any "real" nutrition. I think as long as I eat nutritiously that I will be fine. But I mostly eat 2 meals a day, however, occasionally it becomes 1 meal + 1 snack type meal day because I'm less hungry some days than others.

I am in the 2nd Key to Success chapter of Thin for Life called Take the Reins. They say to learn to accept the fact that your body is going to be less than perfect and your never going to look like a model. We need to learn to lose and maintain at a weight where we feel comfortable not at a weight that an insurance says we should weigh. I like that. I have pictures of me when I weighed 165 back when DH and I married. I see those pictures now and thing, "I didn't know I looked that good". Everybody told me I did and I was in a size 14 clothes. I was dieting when I started but had ended up eating only when hungry more like I am now. I read so many diet books and started dieting again and as I struggled to lose more weight and I've ended up fighting to find a "diet" that I can live with only to gain all this weight to where I am now. I have managed not to gain back all the weight I had lost. My highest weight at that time was 245. I never made it down to 150 and I need to accept the fact that at this age, I may not ever get to 150 again.

I'm just learning to eat the way I eat and let the weight come down steadily until I reach the weight where my body says "That's all. This is where I want to stay." This is the what the Master Success Losers and Maintainers do and it works for them so I know it will work for me.

Have good week.

Trish, I think I read that book Thin for Life. It sounds familiar. I did much better with losing weight when I just ate less but didn't try to follow any particular diet plan. I think reading all the different books just confused me and I started combining the best of each plan. I did better when I didn't know anything about dieting.

I haven't been following any diet plan recently but always watch my starchy carbs. I was surprised to see I was down a pound over the weekend.

I don't eat as soon as I get up, but when I do eat, it's breakfast food, even if it's 11 AM. So I call it breakfast. We usually eat supper around 4-5 PM. In between I try to eat some cooked vegetables, and I will call that a snack rather than lunch. I know a lot of people who only eat one meal a day, but I'm not comfortable going all day without food, and I don't think it's good for BG.

I feel the same way about pictures of me when I was thin. I was always trying to lose more weight, but now I realize that I looked and felt good the way I was.

Yesterday morning, my neck popped and after that my back felt so much better. I think everything was just out of alignment and that popping just lined it all up again. I called the chiropractor and cancelled my appointment for today and told him I will come back in if I start having more pain. I don't want him messing with it now that it feels better.

Carol Sue Glad your feeling better. Strange how your neck just popped and everything aligned itself. I assume that was the results of your recent treatment. Hope it sticks.

Well, yesterday was a free for all eat everything in sight. Not sure why. Today I read the danger of allowing the scales to define your worth. We need to have a reason like health and feeling better as our reason for making changes to how we eat rather than just to see the numbers go down on the scales. They seem to feel that if you are doing this just for appearance that it is harder to be successful at losing and maintaining.

I got up this morning and decided that I wanted chicken wings for breakfast and decided to go for it. Thoroughly enjoyed it. Not making any food a no-no hoping that if I allow some of my "play" foods that they eventually will lose their flare. I am going to work at stopping the night eating. I plan to use the 8 or 9 hr eating window for IE. I really don't like the way I feel when I eat at night.

The book has a piece titled "You are much more than your weight". They say that reaching your goal weight isn't all there is to life. There is an example of a Master who often thinks that she could lose 10 more lbs, but she decided it wasn't worth giving all her focus on it and giving up the time it would take her to do it. She is happy with the weight she is at. The point is made that goal weight should not be the most important thing in our life. Being happy and healthy should be more important. One doctor says that life is not about weight control. I thought it was interesting how she made her point. She said "When you reach the pearly gates, God forbid that you should say to St. Peter when he asks what you did with your life, 'I watched my weight.'" I think that says it all. I've spent most of my life "watching" my weight and look where I am now at 72 yrs old. I've been doing this off and on since I was about 22 yrs old.

I thought of something else I read yesterday. I'm a person who like to encourage other people. I'm sympathetic with what they are feeling about themselves. But when it comes to me, I have no mercy because I expect perfection. The point in the book was to treat yourself like you would a friend when you have a less than perfect day of eating. Perfection was expected of me and my sister growing up and it has been carried over into my adult life. I remember an aunt telling me once, "People always commented on how they never minded you and your sister coming to visit because you didn't bother things and you were so polite and no problem". We knew what was waiting for us if we got home. Our Daddy was extremely strict.

So today, I thought about it and I had a talk with myself. I admitted that yesterday was way less than perfect. I owned it and then I forgave myself and let it go. Then being a Christian, I asked the Lord to help me do better today. I believe I have a few things to face in order to be successful. Learn to like my body the way it is and realize that it is the way it is. As one Master put it, she always hated the way she looked in a bathing suit. One day on the beach, she looked around and realized that most of the others on the beach had less than perfect bodies. No one looked like the models we see. So first accept my imperfect body and love it. Then learn to accept that this is going to take a while to lose it. If we were remodeling our house, it wouldn't be done in a day; so it is unrealistic to think that this is going to be quick. Another reason to learn to expect not so perfect days of eating and accept them and move on and just practice doing what is needful believing that the good days will out weigh the bad and I will eventually reach a weight that my body feels comfortable with.

According to the Masters I've read about, finding the weight our body is comfortable with seems to be key to reaching and maintaining a healthy weight we can be happy with rather than reaching a goal weight we have chosen. Some do reach their goal and happily stay there, but evidently many do not. Healthy and happy seems to be the main important goal.

Sorry this is so long, but I hope it will help all of us.

Trish, I agree with you that no one eats perfectly, and no one looks perfect in their own eyes. I have a sister-in-law who is very heavy, moreso than either of us. She bravely wears shorts and tank tops when it's hot out. She has joined a gym and exercises faithfully, with no worry about how she looks. She can get around very well. She worked on the second floor of a building with no elevator, and does the stairs well. She will probably never be thin, but I think because of the exercise she is healthy, and she seems to be very happy with who she is.

What kind of wings do you eat? I only eat them when I'm at this one restaurant we go to because DH doesn't like them. Today at Aldi's, the woman in front of us had a box of frozen wings and she said they are the best wings she's ever had. I see no problem with eating what you want in the morning. I am just such an egg lover that I rarely choose anything else.

I made a meatloaf yesterday. I used to give the leftovers to my step-daughter, but it was so good I got 3 nice slices out of it and put them in the freezer. This way I can have it for lunch if I get hungry for it. DH won't want it for another month or so. I find I am much more satisfied when I eat what I really want rather than what I think I should be eating.

Carol Sue How do you make your meatloaf? I like it but DH likes it so plain and I have made it with cheese to hold together, but didn't work too well last time.

I just season the wings and bake until crisp. I used to make a hot sauce with tobacco sauce, butter and a touch of vinegar and covered them with that. I still do that occasionally when DH eats them, but mostly I like them plain. It is just preference. Some time DH like BBQ on his and it is easy to bake them and then roll his in hot sauce or pour BBQ on his and leave my plain.

Well, I ordered another book. I wasn't going to but read reviews after reading info on it online. I wasn't going to get interested in macronutrients and micronutrients, but then I read about the micronutrients which seems to be carbs, protein and fat balancing. The article I read about the Zero Belly Diet mentioned macronutrients. In the article is about new science research of nutritional genetics of how our genes are turned on and off by the foods we eat. According to this we can make a few tweaks to our lifestyle and diet and help us improve our gut health, dampen inflammation and turn off our fat genes so that our body starts shedding fat, especially the belly fat which they say is where all the different diseases start from.

One review basically verified that the info is correct as she had heard some of the things he shares and said that he had done a more extensive study so we don't have to. Another woman said that she didn't follow the plan in the book but used it to get the info she needed to tweak her plan and it worked for her with good results. I read of others who it worked for and some of the 4 stars were because they liked the info that worked but had other complaints like one said the sale was over kill, another felt it was repetitive too much and another felt it should have had more recipes and less exercise stuff which they felt was to make the book longer. I read one person who said it didn't work for him. A lot of the ones I read had been members of the 500 people who tested his diet for him, but they were not paid anything for testing.

Since I got the feeling that macronutrients have something to do with how certain nutrients in some foods we eat either turn our fat genes on or off, I decided that I need to know more about them. I will get the book Friday and I will share what I learn from it.

I am already starting the 1st and 2nd things that was shared in the article. I exercise before breakfast and have oatmeal with berries for breakfast. He doesn't specify how long to exercise there, but #9 which is called Snaxercise says that scientists in New Zealand have learned that if you exercise 10 minutes before breakfast, 10 minutes before lunch and 10 minutes before dinner that it lowered blood glucose levels. That isn't always easy even with my laid back lifestyle, but if it lowers my bs, it is well worth figuring it out and doing it.

Catch you tomorrow.

Trish, we like our meatloaf rather plain, too. We have ordered meatloaf in some restaurants and they seemed too spicy for us. Not hot spicy, but just too much seasoning. I use lean ground beef, about 1 1/2 to 2 lb. I add some chopped onion, celery and shredded carrot, but have it all chopped fairly small. I use 1 egg, 1/2 c of bread crumbs and a few squirts of ketchup and a dash or two of seasoned salt, salt and pepper. I don't measure, so the amounts are not always the same but it usually tastes the same. I bake it for 45 minutes covered with foil then take the foil off for another 30-45 min to let it get a crust on top. Then I let it sit, covered loosly with foil for about 20 min or so before serving. Sometimes if I don't have breadcrumbs I crush some crackers, and one time I used oatmeal flakes. There was no difference in the taste. A woman on another thread told me she uses crushed pork rinds because she is doing low carb. I don't know if that would alter the taste, and I don't know if DH would eat it.

Sometimes reading new books just confuses me, and other times I feel that I get information from each book that applies to me and I can put it into action. I have been reading a lot online about reducing inflammation because I think that is the root of a lot of my medical issues, but there are so many factors.

Carol Sue Thanks for sharing your way of making meatloaf.

I did the 10 minutes exercise 3 times a day yesterday, but I did 20 this morning and will see about doing 10 to 20 more minutes later today. I didn't eat the oats this morning because I wanted eggs and bacon. So I had my eggs, bacon and avocado this morning. Will get book today.

I read something interesting from one of Masters in Thin for Life that made me stop to think. He said that he believed there is a strong psychological component to losing weight permanently. He seems to thing that every heavy person needs to start by asking themselves this question because he found that there was a positive component for him overweight. He asked himself something like this "Is there a positive component to being overweight?" For him it was that he wouldn't have to mow his lawn. He then decided how he could solve that problem by paying someone else to do it.

Made me realize maybe I need to find out if my being overweight serves a purpose for me and then figure out how I can compensate for it and be thin.

Book also says there are 2 ways the Masters lose and maintain. She called it Self-style vs Program people. Self-styled masters lose weight on their own without following a stringent diet plan. Some took a plan or information from some and tweaked creating their own plan according to their likes/dislikes, preferences and lifestyle. For example, one guy did lowfat diet his way, but he loved ribs so he allowed one day a month that he had them. So they did not write off they faves, but allowed them a place in their plan.

The program people followed some sort of structured plan like WW, TOPS or self-help group.

I found it interesting that none of them used fad diets, pills, shots etc. And they said that those who were successful at losing and keeping it off exercised. It seems that people who lose weight with no exercise of some sort seem to eventually gain it back.

Have a great weekend.

Trish, I hear so many people say they lost weight without any exercise, and many diet plans say that no exercise is needed. While it's true that you can lose weight without exercise, it's not the calories burned during exercise that are important. Not only does exercise lower blood pressure and blood sugar, but it also lowers bad cholesterol and raises good cholesterol, strengthens your muscles and improves your lung function. In addition, it regulates hormones. We as diabetics already know how it helps to regulate the hormone insulin, but it also regulates other hormones like cortisol and leptin, which are important to weight loss and maintenance. For some reason, not many people like to exercise, but we can also get exercise by living an active lifestyle, things like walking to and from places nearby rather than taking the car or bus, and using the stairs instead of elevators and escalators. People don't think of those activities as exercise, but our ancestors didn't have exercise bikes and treadmills. Exercise was just part of living for them.

I just have such a hard time understanding why so many people who lose weight can't maintain the loss. I don't know if it's really the lack of ability to make a permanent lifestyle change or something else. It seems that our bodies just don't want to let go of that weight. I don't know if there's any way to change that.

Morning, I'm back from my trip. I got in late last Nite.
I did well weight wise on my trip.... Up .5 of a pound, I consider that success.
Back at it this week.
I love meatloaf,,,,I use ground beef, ketchup and a package of onion soup mix all mixed together...yum.

I didn't have good internet while I was away, I'll have to go back and catch up

Welcome back p.a. Great job on watching weight!

Welcome back p.a. Great job on the weight control.

One thing I found interesting in the Thin for Life book is that... NO one took weight off and kept it off doing low carb.

I got the Zero Belly Diet book and it is helpful. In fact, I think this way of eating could be done with WW very easily although he says you don't have to count calorie or anything. I might need to in the beginning. He recommends eating oats or steel cut oats. He also says eat red fruit and bright colored veggies and greens. Also recommends eating quinoa, brown rice etc and nuts. He says peanuts are especially good to eat as well as beans especially black and lentils. There are foods, but can't name them all.

The goal is to get rid of the visceral fat. I'll try to share more later.

Haven't felt up to par today. Had a busy day, but no busier than usual so I'm not sure what is going on. I have exercised everyday on the bike besides being more active. So maybe I've just over done it and need to rest. Plus I'm easing into this new way to eat. Starting full swing tomorrow. I did read where some people had headaches etc the 1st few days on the plan.