Monday 19th Jan weigh in.

Stayed the same, glass. I hoped I would have lost a pound or so, but hopefully next week.....

10st 2lb for me. Goodoh!

I DREAM of being 10st 2 lb.....

Bother bother bother!
Have put back on all the weight I lost last week
Not really surprised . I can't seem to stop nibbling. Though I have been quite good about exercise, so I was hoping it wouldn't be that bad .
Must try harder !!!

I finished off the Christmas cake last night. It wasn't even my Christmas cake but the S.O.'s mothers cake that he brought here because she's in hospital. I begged him not to leave it here . I'm tired today as I didn't sleep well last night, and tiredness, with me means nibbling. At least I can't nibble cake now....

Well I have lost 2 1/5lbs so pleased with that.

Always next week Marelli dont lose heart.
Well done MrsPickle
Rowan
grannyK that was my problem after the holidays, but I have given myself a strict talking too. Drink plenty of water works for me.
Tegan what your eating can make you feel sluggish after you have been good, vicious circle. Christmas cake should be banned and fed to the birds after 26th December.

This is what we had for tea last night, its really quick, filling and very tasty.

Gingered beef stir fry with rice

Serves 4
Ready in 20 mins
200g dried Basmati rice... I have used straight to wok noodles instead and works well.
Lowcal cooking spray(1 cal)
400g beef frying steaks... I use the beef strips save prep time.
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
1 tsp grated fresh root ginger
2 onions thinly sliced
650g ready prepared stir fry veg
1 tbsp medium curry powder
4 tbsp dark soy sauce
3 level tbsp sweet chilli sauce
1 red chilli for garnish
lime wedges to serve

Cook rice as instructions.
Meanwhile place a wok or large frying pan sprayed with cooking spray over a high heat. When hot stir fry beef for 3-4 mins, until just cooked through, transfer to a plate and keep warm

Rinse the wok, wipe dry and re-spray, fry garlic, ginger, onions and stir fry veg for 6-8 mins, until just beginning to soften, add the curry powder cook for 1 min. Add the soy and chilli sauce and stir fry for another min.

Drain the beef and toss through the veg mixture and serve over the rice or noodles.

For anyone on Slimming world Extra Easy 1 syn.

Hallo everyone. I drifted away from these threads last year but have just popped back to offer some words of encouragement, if that's not too arrogant (it's not meant to be). I have lost a stone since last March with the 5:2 diet and after many failed attempts in the past, I think that if I can do it, anyone can! Good luck to all my fellow losers .

Congratulations when thats a great result, some people on 5-2 have had great results, I have tried and it doesn't suit me.

That sounds tasty glass I'll give it a try next week.

Not lost any more pounds this week but another 1% body fat has gone somewhere (where exactly does it go?)

That's 5% reduction in bidy fat since I started using a pedometer in the summer. My aim is a minimum of 5000 steps a day which is about 45 minutes walking or just over 2 miles. Sometimes I hit the dizzy heights of 10,000+ steps but I don't knock myself out about this.

Well done when

I went to the Slimming World weigh in yesterday and had lost one and a half pounds - still losing the Christmas weight but at least the scales are now going in the right direction! My dodgy knee is playing up again and so my walking has had to be put on hold.

Anya - this might seem a stupid question, but how do you do your 5000+ steps? Do you go out for a daily walk or use a treadmill or what? And where do you walk - locally or in the countryside? I rarely manage 5000 steps, I'm ashamed to say - I am trying the recommended 20 mins a day brisk walking though, and also 20 mins on a very uncomfortable exercise bike in addition (though not every day!). For me, that's a big improvement on what I did previously. I am trying very hard on the 5/2 diet but weight loss is still very slow for me

I still seem to be nibbling. Alas, the Christmas cake wasn't mine; I did ask the S.O. to take it home with him but he said he was going to throw it away and I hate wasting food . I'm hoping that I've ate a bit better today. Someone at the gym said he'd lost over 2 stone doing the 5:2 diet, and that's with him being quite a heavy beer drinker too.

Tegan, I took a leaf out of your book and finished off the Christmas cake today. It was a bit dry and the icing was brick-hard, but I was very brave and now it's all gone.....

I'm proud of you. I even ate the icing flower from the top of the cake..it was horrible but I didn't let that put me off. Just finished off the last of the cheese biscuits.....

Thanks glass and Anya. Realised in the middle of the night that I hadn't said thank you to you, glass for your encouragement last year when I was a regular; it certainly spurred me on, and so you are at least partly responsible for the fact that I feel much more comfortable now than I did this time last year! Thanks and more for you.

Rowantree, keep it up - weight loss done slowly is more likely to stay off than a quick loss which often bounces back. I find the 5:2 is easy to vary if you have something on when you might be due a diet day, or if you just can't face doing a really low day. As for counting steps, I have a friend who did it with her work colleagues recently as a competition to see which office could get closest to 10,000 steps per day. She walks to work and quite a lot at work, but found it hard to reach 10,000 most days. She still felt better for it though and thought it was worth it! Good luck!

my scales have stopped working!!

Wheniwasyourage, what do you eat on the other 5 days? Do you still have to be really careful calorie-wise?

I HAVE to continue because, officially, I am in the obese category (five foot nothing and around 78 kg!) When I weigh myself after fast days, I lose between half a kilo-one kilo, but then it creeps back up again till the next Fast Day.
On the 5/2 advice website the advice is to restrict calories on non-fast days as well (though not fasting, obv) - you can calculate your own individual limit based on your stats and age - but in Mosley's book it's implied that you can eat what you like on non fast days. So I am a bit confused!

Tegan are you sure that icing flower was horrible.?! I bet it was delicious.

It takes so long to stop hankering after Xmas cake and mince pies.

Rowantree I am lucky in that I live about half a mile from our shops, up a hill. I force myself to shop daily - even though sometimes it's only a loaf if bread and could wait till tomorrow.

The hardest step is the first one outside my front door because, especially in this weather, I'd honestly rather sit down with a good book. But I wrap up warm and go. That journey to threshold shops, round the town and back the longer way home, takes about 4,000 steps.

The extra 1000 just mounts up around the house and garden. On days I do the school run or go into Birmingham then the total easily shoots up to 8,000+.

threshold the nearest shops

A good tip Rowantree if you have one particular time of the day when you get The Munchies then make that the time you get out of the house and go for a walk. A friend agreed to walk another friend's dog in the afternoon. Since September she has lost half a stone because not only is she walking more but afternoons were the times she would hit the biscuit tin!